Morocco didn’t have much problems in qualifying for the World Cup, the first one after 20 years of absence.

TThey have conceded 5 goals and scored 25 since the beginning of this year and are considered as one of those teams that could prove to be a surprise in this year’s World Cup. They are well organized side, both offensively and defensively. Maybe the biggest strength of this Morroco team is Herve Renard, a legend in African football who won African Cup of Nations two times. With him, Morocco looks like a team that can cause an upset in group B.

1. They tend to play out from the back and take their time to create platforms for penetration. Ahmadi and Bousouffa drop deep to receive and organize the play forward, with Ziyech and Belhanda as focal points of penetration in halfspaces. That box in the middle creates numerical superiority against opponents and forces them to defend deeper. Mendyl and Amrabat stay by the touchline, so in case penetration through the middle is blocked they can find them with diagonal balls. Depending on in game situations Amrabat and Ziyech can switch sides in order to play against opponent’s weaknesses. Ziyech operates more in between the lines, from where he dictates the play on opponent’s half of the field, while Amrabat stays by the touchline and looks for 1v1 situations.
2. Playing on counter-attacks is a big strength of theirs. They are quick to release from defensive positions, withZiyech asprimary passing option. He can drive the ball down the flank or through the middle, but also looks to deliver through balls to Boutaib and Amrabat. His link up play with Belhanda on the left flank is a big threat, as they understand each other quite well.

Defensive issues were noticed in situations when they apply high pressing. They don’t defend one-two combinations properly, as they fail to track runs from deep. Goalkeeper position is the most vulnerable – he has problems to deal with shots from distance due to poor positioning.