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Morocco v Croatia Preview

Morocco v Croatia Preview

Mayes Yousef

Morocco v Croatia Preview

The first Group F match in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will see Morocco take on Croatia at Al Bayt Stadium.

Morocco have qualified for the World Cup five times, in 1970, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2018. They are also the 1976 African Cup of Nations winners. As of October 2022, Morocco are tanked as the 22nd best national team in the world. Their best performance was in 1986, when they were the only African team to finish at the top of a group in the World Cup.

Croatia are looking to repeat last edition’s heroics, as they made history in Russia 2018 by reaching the tournament’s finals. Croatia weren’t a favourite in 2018 but reaching the finals even once could change that.

Morocco and Croatia met only once, back in 1996 friendly that finished in a 2-2 draw, in Casablanca.

A key match-stat is that Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol completed more dribbles than any other center-back in Europe's top five leagues in 2021/2022.

Morocco are led by Chelsea midfielder Hakim Ziyech.

The match kicks off at 13:00 Doha time.

Morocco line-up: Bounou, Hakimi, Mazraoui, Amrabat, Aguerd, Saiss, Ziyech, Ounahi, Amallah, Boufal, En-Nesyri

Croatia line-up: Livakovic, Perisic, Lovren, Kovacic, Kramaric, Modric, Brozovic, Vlasic, Sosa, Gvardiol, Juranovic