A fiery start is guaranteed for the "fiery" in Qatar - the Croatians, world vice-champions, open Group H at the World Cup in Qatar against the "lions of Atlas".
The attacking and unpredictable game of Morocco against the class and experience of Croatia will mean a sure spectacle on November 23 at 11 a.m. our time at the magnificent "Al Bayt" stadium in Doha.
The Moroccans, however, fell into an unpleasant group - in addition to them and the Croats, the way to the round of XNUMX through one of the two first places will be sought by the super-talented generation of Belgium and the rising team, the Canadian national team.
Morocco is taking part in the biggest football show for the sixth time, and despite the fact that it was not outplayed in any game four years ago in Russia, unrealized chances deprived the "lions of Atlas" of the opportunity to try the round of 1986, where they met only once - in 88 in the only World Cup knockout game, Lotar Mateus eliminated them with a goal in the 3th minute for West Germany. After draws with Poland and England, Morocco then won the group with a 1:XNUMX victory over Portugal.
Can history repeat itself, and how much can this generation actually do? The names of Hakim Ziješ (Chelsea), Ashraf Hakimi (PSŽ), En Nesiri and goalkeeper Bono from Sevilla, and Amrabat from Fiorentina are a sign of the enormous class of the team that the famous Vahid Halilhodžić led to the World Cup.
And that without the help of Ziješ - who was removed by Vaha due to indiscipline and spoiling the atmosphere in the team.
The "battle" and persuasion between the head of the Moroccan Football Association and Vahid Halilohodžić lasted for a long time, because the Moroccans did not want to go to the World Cup without their biggest star. The adamant Mostar did not want to give in and he was fired two months before the World Cup - this has already happened to him twice, first with the Ivory Coast national team, then with the Japanese. He took both of them to the World Championship, he didn't have the opportunity to lead either of them at the World Cup.
With Halilhodžić, the Moroccans were the only ones to have the maximum 18 points in the African qualifiers, with a goal difference of 20:1. After the victory in group H, in direct duels with the DR Congo of Hector Cuper, the Algerians reached the World Cup - they celebrated 4:1 at home in the second leg, and for the only game they did not win - the first match in the DR Congo (1:1), the reason is only a missed penalty by Ma, the striker of the Hungarian champion, Ferencvaros.
The choice of the new head of the profession fell on 46-year-old Valido Regragi, one of the best African coaches with the African Champions League title with Vedada.
Unlike Vaha, who used the penetration and class of Hakimi on the right flank and the height and speed of En Nesiri in a 3-5-2 formation, Regragi is expected to help Zijes in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with the Chelsea player in 40 appearances, scored 17 times.
The weak side of Morocco is considered to be the last midfield and unreliable defense, so the bookmakers value their passage through the group with 3,2.
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