Renard’s Atlas Lions plays Ukraine on 31 May and Slovakia on 4 June (both games in Geneva, Switzerland) before taking on Estonia in Tallinn on 9 June.
FIFA World Cup 2018 » Two-time ‘Africa Cup of Nations’ winning coach Herve Renard announced a provisional list of 23 players and three reserves that will make up the North African team, who will return to the World Cup after an absence of 20 years.
The Atlas Lions will be hoping to repeat their achievement from the 1986 World Cup when they surged into the last 16, holding England and Poland to goalless draws before defeating Portugal to top their group.
Unusually for a national team, over half the players heading to Russia were born outside of Morocco, in either France, Spain, or the Netherlands. However, FIFA rules on nationality and citizenship allow them to represent the north African country internationally.
Morocco is grouped with the 2010 World Cup winners Spain, European Championship title holders Portugal and Asian powerhouse Iran in a tough Group B.
With the Iberian duo widely considered strong favourites to progress far into the knock-out stages of the tournament, the Morocco squad, arrive in Russia as underdogs and will have to play very well in order to secure a last 16 berth.
In their last round of qualification, Renard’s men finished top of a group containing Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Gabon and Mali, maintaining a six-game unbeaten streak without conceding a single goal and scoring 11 in the process. The Atlas Lions are known to play possession-based football and press aggressively in defence.
In a group like this, a defensive approach will be the order of the day, and Morocco’s defence is boosted with the presence of Juventus center-back Medhi Benatia. A former Italian Serie A all-star player, Benatia also captains the team and his leadership both on and off the pitch will be crucial to the teams success.
The Atlas Lions list for the prestigious tournament did not include the name of Al Ahly striker and Egyptian Premier League top scorer, Wualid Azaro, who marked his return to the national team last March. Additionally, Al Hilal forward Achraf Bencharki wasn’t named among the squad after Moroccan reports claimed he would be called. Southampton’s out of favour midfielder Sofiane Boufal also misses the train to Russia.
Renard’s Atlas Lions will play Ukraine on 31 May and Slovakia on 4 June (both games in Geneva, Switzerland) before taking on Estonia in Tallinn on 9 June.
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