{"id":28753,"date":"2026-06-07T18:19:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T18:19:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/?p=28753"},"modified":"2026-06-07T18:20:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T18:20:25","slug":"morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/","title":{"rendered":"Morocco to test World Cup mantle against returning, star-studded Norway"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Angu Lesley<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Football writer kick442.com &#8211; Cameroon<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>African champions Morocco will take on a star-studded Norway side today at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, in one of the headline fixtures of the final round of preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>The Atlas Lions head into the tournament carrying the hopes of the continent after becoming the first African and Arab nation to reach the semi-finals at the previous World Cup in Qatar. They now enter a new era under coach Mohamed Ouahbi, who guided Morocco to the FIFA U-20 World Cup title last year.<\/p>\n<p>Led by stars such as Achraf Hakimi, Sofyan Amrabat and Brahim Diaz, Morocco have been drawn in Group C alongside Brazil, Scotland and Haiti, with their campaign beginning against the Brazilians before subsequent clashes with Scotland and Haiti.<\/p>\n<p>Standing in their way today is a Norway side making its long-awaited return to the World Cup after a 28-year absence. Spearheaded by Erling Haaland, Martin \u00d8degaard and Alexander S\u00f8rloth, the Scandinavians are regarded as one of Europe\u2019s dark horses heading into the tournament. Norway have been drawn in Group I, where they will face Iraq, Senegal and France in the group stage.<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, fellow African representatives have also been completing their preparations for the Mundial. South Africa settled for a 1-1 draw against Jamaica, Egypt suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Brazil, while Tunisia endured a heavy 5-0 loss to Belgium.<\/p>\n<p>Several other African nations are also scheduled to be in action today and tomorrow as the continent\u2019s representatives seek momentum ahead of the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Angu Lesley Football writer kick442.com &#8211; Cameroon African champions Morocco will take on&hellip;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":28754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,5,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fifa","category-football","category-world-cup"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Morocco to test World Cup mantle against returning, star-studded Norway - KICK442 Sport News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Morocco to test World Cup mantle against returning, star-studded Norway - KICK442 Sport News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Angu Lesley Football writer kick442.com &#8211; Cameroon African champions Morocco will take on&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KICK442 Sport News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-07T18:19:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-07T18:20:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG-20260607-WA01291.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"706\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"neilley ebessa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u00c9crit par\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"neilley ebessa\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/\",\"name\":\"Morocco to test World Cup mantle against returning, star-studded Norway - KICK442 Sport News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG-20260607-WA01291.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-07T18:19:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-07T18:20:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c1fec891a5f0ae6a509bfe6b61a4f6d8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG-20260607-WA01291.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG-20260607-WA01291.jpg\",\"width\":706,\"height\":1280},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Morocco to test World Cup mantle against returning, star-studded Norway\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/\",\"name\":\"KICK442 Sport News\",\"description\":\"Best Sport News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c1fec891a5f0ae6a509bfe6b61a4f6d8\",\"name\":\"neilley ebessa\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3e8117f1effa9d37cdc0d8bf9f635115deed3d72e3a18a084a75e40ea7364bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3e8117f1effa9d37cdc0d8bf9f635115deed3d72e3a18a084a75e40ea7364bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"neilley ebessa\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/author\/neilley\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Morocco to test World Cup mantle against returning, star-studded Norway - KICK442 Sport News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Morocco to test World Cup mantle against returning, star-studded Norway - KICK442 Sport News","og_description":"By Angu Lesley Football writer kick442.com &#8211; Cameroon African champions Morocco will take on&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/","og_site_name":"KICK442 Sport News","article_published_time":"2026-06-07T18:19:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-07T18:20:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":706,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG-20260607-WA01291.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"neilley ebessa","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"\u00c9crit par":"neilley ebessa","Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/","url":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/","name":"Morocco to test World Cup mantle against returning, star-studded Norway - KICK442 Sport News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG-20260607-WA01291.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-07T18:19:29+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-07T18:20:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c1fec891a5f0ae6a509bfe6b61a4f6d8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG-20260607-WA01291.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG-20260607-WA01291.jpg","width":706,"height":1280},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/morocco-to-test-world-cup-mantle-against-returning-star-studded-norway\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Morocco to test World Cup mantle against returning, star-studded Norway"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/","name":"KICK442 Sport News","description":"Best Sport News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c1fec891a5f0ae6a509bfe6b61a4f6d8","name":"neilley ebessa","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3e8117f1effa9d37cdc0d8bf9f635115deed3d72e3a18a084a75e40ea7364bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3e8117f1effa9d37cdc0d8bf9f635115deed3d72e3a18a084a75e40ea7364bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"neilley ebessa"},"url":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/author\/neilley\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28753"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28755,"href":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28753\/revisions\/28755"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kick442.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}