Morocco stands in the way of Spain: “It is the best generation in its history”

Only 14 kilometers of water separate Spain from Morocco, but the geographical proximity to its southern neighbor does not translate into a deep knowledge of its football, eager to cross the border of the round of 16 of Mexico in 1986 in the World Cup in Qatar, its best result so far. The two teams arrive at different emotional moments: Morocco ended up leading a group in which Belgium and Croatia started as favourites. And Spain came close to elimination by losing to Japan, disappointing the expectations unleashed by their brilliant start against Costa Rica.

Does that make the North African team favourites? “Spain continues to be, although seeing what happened on the last day, phew,” Juan Pedro Benali, from Cartagena, one of the Spaniards who knows Moroccan football best, snorts doubtfully on the phone. He has coached five teams in the top flight, with which he has been a semifinalist in the Throne Cup, a finalist in the Arab Cup and third in the league. “I went there for the first time in 1999, and football has changed a lot since then. People live it more, it is a little more professional, with more organized teams and the federation has invested a lot, ”he explains.

Ángel Viadero from Santander, another Spanish coach who embarked on the Moroccan adventure, has the same perception. “His football is changing by leaps and bounds, as is the country, but it is still very virgin. They are street players. I remember passing through towns and cities while traveling and seeing children playing on the roads day and night. That street game that perhaps we have lost in Spain ”.

The data speaks of a Moroccan team open to the world. The vast majority have been trained in Europe. And 14 of them were even born outside their country, especially in the Netherlands and Belgium, but also in Spain, in the case of Achraf Hakimi (Madrid) and Munir Mohamedi (Melilla). It is the consequence of being a country of emigrants that has been exporting labor for decades, as has also been felt in the stadiums of Qatar because a large Moroccan community lives there.

The performance of the Atlas Lions has not surprised Benali, who watched their last two friendlies before the World Cup live (a draw against Paraguay and a victory against Chile). “I think it is the best generation of Moroccan football, there are many players in very important leagues,” he argues. He knows well the coach, Walid Regragui, whom he has faced in the past. Of him he emphasizes that “defensively he is very good, and then up front he leaves freedom.” About the star, he has no doubts, the Chelsea attacker Hakim Ziyech, author of the 1-0 against Canada. But he also sees shortcomings and weaknesses that Spain can exploit. “They are slow at the back, especially the captain, Romain Saiss, and then the full-backs Achraf and Mazraoui tend to go up and leave space behind them.” He imagines the match like this: “Morocco is going to wait behind with a 4-1-4-1 and En Nesyri trying to press the ball out. If Spain tries to go inside it will suffer. He has to try to open up to the bands”.

The Cantabrian Viadero, who led Atlético Tetuán in 2019, praises his solidity. “Morocco is not going to disarm. He will wait for the moment to bite the bone. Spain is a favourite, although it is less expert than on other occasions. The key is if he has learned from what happened against Japan, because the script can be similar.

Carlos Alós from Tarragona is a football globetrotter. He currently leads the Rwanda team, but has trained in Hong Kong, Poland, Cyprus, Qatar or Kazakhstan. A good season in that last country caught the attention of FAR Rabat. And there he left in 2019. He was a neighbor of Regragui, with whom he had dealings. “He is a very strict trainer. His teams always have a lot of order. He does not have as much quality as the Spanish, but they make up for it with tactical and physical discipline. They are going to go out very quickly to the contras and to the open space ”.

He highlights two qualities: the ability to punish the rival’s losses and his defensive seriousness when he gets ahead – he has only conceded one goal. “When there are losses, Morocco’s transitions are going to be very fast, and they can do us a lot of damage. In positional attack they are not going to create many problems for us, but if they score first it will be very difficult to open up their defence”, he predicts.

“They leave their soul”

The good Moroccan performance has not surprised Real Valladolid either, where Jawal El-Yamiq plays, a central defender who has had minutes from the bench in two of the World Cup matches, but also the veteran defender Zou Feddal and the midfielder Anuar Tuhami. This was on Regragui’s previous list until he suffered an injury that left him out. “For a lot of people it’s surprising, but I knew they would be tough. They have very high-level players, some had gone unnoticed, ”he explains.

Anuar praises the retreat and his way of defending. “They leave their soul when they lose a ball,” he says. The Pucela youth squad believes that this forcefulness through the center can hinder the Spanish combinations between the lines, and if they steal quickly they can do damage to the back with Ziyech, Achraf or En-Nesiry. On the other hand, Luis Enrique’s men have possession in their favor. “If they move the ball from side to side, the game will be long for them and they can get desperate. Morocco will try to dirty the game and come out against it”, predicts Anuar, who appreciates the unity of the group around the coach after the anxiety of times past: “There is a lot of feeling for the country and a lot of desire”.

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