Morocco – Slovakia Prediction & Picks (04.06.2018)

In the Swiss city of Geneva, WK-ganger Morocco prepares for the upcoming World Cup through a friendly international match against Slovakia. To what extent are the North Africans ready for their first group match on June 15 against Iran?

Morocco:

After twenty years of absence, Morocco makes its comeback at the World Cup this summer. The Lions of the Atlas want to survive at least the group stage, but they are in a very tough group with Spain, Portugal and Iran. However, the men of national coach Herve Renard have been unbeaten for sixteen matches in a row and can therefore work with confidence to the World Championships in Russia.

Despite the strong form, Renard still has enough headaches. Especially against the sublime Spain and the Portugal of Cristiano Ronaldo, his country will have trouble. The electorate usually chooses a 4-2-3-1 formation, but at the World Championships against stronger opponents on paper will probably opt for an extra lock on the door via a sort of 5-2-2-1 system, with Hamza Mendyl (Lille) and Nordin Amrabat (Leganes) as emerging backs. With seven clean sheets in eight World Cup qualifiers, North Africans have already demonstrated the art of defense. In an offensive sense, however, the country is somewhat disappointing. No less than three of the eight World Cup qualifiers ended in a goalless draw. Also in the friendly international match against Ukraine last Thursday the scoreboard did not move, although Hakim Ziyech (Ajax) still saw the woodwork. With Ziyech and Younes Belhanda (Galatasaray), the Moroccans have plenty of creativity, but they lack a true finishing touch. Perhaps Aziz Bouhaddouz (Sankt Pauli, three goals in 14 international matches) will have the chance to prove himself as a deep striker on Monday-evening.

Slovakia:

Slovakia ended in group F of the European World Cup qualification in second place behind group winner England, but grabbed as ‘worst’ number two yet in addition to participating in the playoffs. The Eastern Europeans will therefore have to watch this summer how other countries will compete for eternal fame at the World Cup. Yet Repre showed last week that it was really nice to be able to play football by keeping the Netherlands at a 1-1 tie for its own audience.

The big question, however, is what basic election Slovakia will come up with on Monday evening. Against the Netherlands, the country brought a relatively strong team on its feet. Star player Marek Hamsik (Napoli) played 73 minutes, while other seasonings such as Stanislav Lobotka (Celta de Vigo), Martin Dubravka (Newcastle United) and Milan Skriniar (Inter) even finished the ninety minutes. The chance is present that national coach Jan Kozak will rotate in Geneva and want to see some other names at work.