On Tuesday, Morocco will play their final friendly during the FIFA window when they battle Peru at the Civitas Metropolitan Stadium in Madrid.
In their first fixture since the World Cup, the Atlas Lions shocked Brazil 2-1 on Saturday in an international friendly, while the Peruvians saw their three-match-unbeaten run end, falling 2-0 to Germany in another friendly.
Over three months since their historic run at the World Cup ended, the Moroccans made more history last weekend, scoring for the first time against the Selecao, while also defeating the top-ranked team in the world for the first time.
In doing so, they became only the second team from Africa after Cameroon to ever defeat the Brazilians in an international fixture, as they made the most of their chances created, scoring on two of their three targeted efforts.
That victory also ended a four-match losing run for them versus South American opponents, making it their first positive result against that region since a 1-1 draw with Chile in 1998.
That performance was reminiscent of what we saw from Walid Regragui’s men throughout their run to the semi-finals in Qatar, as they often collapsed into a low-block, while defending for long stretches and catching their opponents on the counter with some quick passes out from the back.
Walid Regragui was already thinking about Morocco’s game against Peru.
“It’s a great victory and a great celebration. It is a historic victory against the first nation in the FIFA rankings. Our incredible supporters have transcended us. Now we will see if we will give the young players some playing time against Peru on Tuesday,” he added.
Having already punched their ticket to the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in the Ivory Coast next year, Regragui will have plenty of time to prepare and assess his squad as they follow up this encounter with matches against South Africa and Liberia later on this year.
For this second friendly match, Walid could be tempted to rotate his workforce to both give his players a breather and offer playing time to young players called up for the first time in the national team.
“We knew the intensity would be high. It was played on details like at the World Cup. We showed our world level in the first half. Hakimi’s exit, Ounahi’s injury and Amrabat’s recent illness were felt in the second half. But our players didn’t give up. We wanted to win at home after the World Cup, ”analyzed the technician.
It was a difficult opening match of 2023 for Peru, as they were contained quite easily by the Germans over the weekend, failing to register a shot on target with only 34% possession.
That was only their second defeat suffered under manager Juan Reynoso, as his defensive approach backfired with the Peruvian back five often caught out, while the midfield four failed to contain the Germans.
The Peruvian team was widely surpassed by Germany last Saturday, which could have won by a bigger score if it weren’t for the good work of goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.
Coach Juan Reynoso pointed out that the match against the “Mannschaft” left many teachings and defended his defensive system with which he went out to face the friendly match.
“If we are humble, we are going to get a lot of lessons. It takes work. The wingers must know how to interpret when to press or close”, Reynoso said after the match.
Their defeat versus Germany was the first time they had conceded multiple goals in a single match since dropping a 2-0 defeat to Brazil in September 2021.
Los Incas have only dropped two of their last eight contests versus teams outside the CONMEBOL region, but they have not faced a side from Africa since 2012, when they drew Tunisia (1-1) and defeated Nigeria (1-0) that year.
Historically they have only faced Morocco once, at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, when Teofilo Cubillas notched a brace, with Roberto Challe scoring in between as the Peruvians came away with a 3-0 triumph.
Peru failed to qualify for the Qatar World Cup after losing to Australia on penalties in the intercontinental playoffs.
Morocco possible starting lineup:
Bounou; Hakimi, Riad, Saiss, Amraoui; Zaroury, Amrabat, Salah; Ziyech, En-Nesyri, Boufal
Peru possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Advincula, Araujo, Abram, Trauco; Flores, Cartagena, Tapia, Yotun; Carrillo, Ruidiaz
Morocco Atlas Lions vs Peru Los Incas prediction – by kick442.com
Buoyed by a historical 2-1 win over star-studded Brazil, Morocco will look to give fans yet another reason to celebrate when they face Peru in yet another friendly. The World Cup semifinalists proved their worth in Saturday’s clash, and, no doubt, they are high on spirits ahead of the trip to Madrid. Even though boss Walid Regragui is likely to rest key players Hakim Ziyech, Youssef En-Nesyri, and Achraf Hakimi in Tuesday’s friendly, home win should be considered.
Reynoso plans to make some variants to improve some aspects of his Peruvian team such as the entry of Gianluca Lapadula, who was only able to enter the second half against the Germans and with him, the actions of the national team improve. The Italian-Peruvian football player, who recovered from ankle pain, was optimistic about his return to the team that would shine against the Moroccan squad and announced that they will have a great game.
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