Atlas lions look to roar against Belgium

by Staff Reporter

Saturday Nov 26, 2022. 14:00

Belgium and Morocco will do battle in their second outing at the 2022 World Cup, with the Group F tie set to take place on Sunday at the Al Thumama Stadium.

Kick-off is at 3pm (SA, GMT+2)

Morocco kicked their World Cup campaign off with a 0-0 draw against Croatia earlier this week, as Walid Regragui neutralised the 2018 finalists.

While the Croatians looked more progressive with the ball in terms of passing and ball possessions it was Morocco who carved out more goalscoring opportunities.

In one of the toughest groups at the showpiece, Morocco will now face Belgium, who are still deemed to be one of the Dark Horses in international football.

After the stalemate against Croatia, Regragui took solace in the point gained and that he was satisfied with his team’s performance.

“Our goal was to live for another day as defeat in the first match ends your hopes in the competition,” Regragui said in the post match presser.

“We did our best, the goal was not to lose. I’ve only been here for two months and I’m proud of the players. We wanted to achieve another result but in the end we are satisfied with the draw.

“We will wait for the outcome of the Belgium match and then we will look to qualify for the Last 16 against Canada.”

As for Belgium, Roberto Martinez claimed a 1-0 win in their 2022 World Cup opener, as they limped to victory against a spirited Canadian outfit.

Boasting star power in every position, Belgium were made to work for their three points at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium on Wednesday, as Canada took the game to the European giants.

While the Red Devils had the slight edge in possession of the ball, Canada amassed a total of 22 shots at goal. In stark contrast, Belgium looked blunt going forward, recording just nine attempts at the Moroccan goal.

Speaking after the tie, Martinez conceded that Canada were the better team on the day and his side can only get stronger from here on in.

“Canada deserved to be better than us in the way they played,” Martinez told the BBC after the game.

“I think the result reflects the things that we had to do and the way we defended for each other and took our chance.

“It’s a win and we need to play better and to grow. We’ve been here five days, we have to grow with these games. Many top teams are losing games.

“This tournament is going to make you develop and grow as the tournament goes on. If you do that by winning games, it’s an incredible advantage.

“We need to be realistic, we need to play well but when a team can win without playing well, it’s a lot to build on.”