The Moroccan football team will face its Brazilian counterpart, this Saturday (10:00 p.m.) at the big stadium in Tangier, in a friendly match that promises so much between two teams that are full of talented players and who hope to win in this face-to-face globalist taste.
The Atlas Lions, who are making their first outing after their fabulous run at the last World Cup (Qatar-2022), when they reached the semi-finals before losing to France (0-2), placed the bar very high by challenging the five-time world champion.
Brazil, which is making its first trip to the Kingdom, had beaten Morocco in the two previous confrontations between the two selections. The first in 1997, had turned in favor of the Brazilians who had won at home (2-0) in a friendly. A year later, at the France-1998 World Cup, Ronaldo’s teammates had dominated the Moroccan selection in the first round of the World Cup (3-0).
This means that this third Moroccan-Brazilian confrontation will be disputed under the sign of revenge on the side of the Atlas Lions who will try to produce a good show in front of their supporters.
The Brazilians, who had high hopes of returning to glory at the last World Cup, were eliminated by Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals. This early elimination, a real thunderclap in the camp of the Seleçao, precipitated the departure of the Brazilian coach Tite. He was replaced by Ramon Menezes, the U20 coach, who is acting until the appointment of a permanent coach.
Compared to the team that played the World Cup in Qatar, only eleven players were selected. Brazil will thus be deprived of the services of its stars, including Neymar, Richarlison or even Marquinhos, but must count on Vitor Roque and Andrey Santos, nuggets of the national team under 20, who will accompany other sure values such as Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo, Casemiro and Militão.
On the Atlas Lions side, the group will be complete, with the presence of the majority of players who have distinguished themselves at the Qatari World Cup, to which has been added a new generation of players such as Ibrahim Salah (Stade Rennais / France), Benjamin Bouchouari (Saint Etienne/France), Yassine Kechta (Le Havre/France), Chadi Riad (FC Barcelona/Spain), Ayoub Amraoui (OGC Nice/France), Abdelkabir Abqar (Deportivo Alaves/Spain), while the list of 30 players called up is marked by the return of Imrane Louza who plays in England at Watford.
“The Royal Moroccan Football Federation wanted to reward Moroccan supporters by bringing to Morocco one of the great football nations, which is Brazil. The Moroccan public deserves to watch a great football game. It’s an important match and we’re happy to play in our country and have a great game,” noted national coach Walid Regragui at a press conference.
If this meeting arouses great interest from Moroccan specialists and supporters, it will be widely followed at the international level, insofar as the Atlas Lions have won the hearts of millions of supporters at the Qatar World Cup, thanks to their fighting spirit. , love of country and excellent technical level.
Decidedly, this match will serve as a test for the national coach Walid Regragui in anticipation of the next deadlines, in particular the qualifiers for the CAN-2023 in Côte d’Ivoire.
The Atlas Lions will play a second friendly match, the current 28th in Madrid, against Peru.