How Morocco Could Line-Up at #AFCON2019

With just 4 days until Morocco's opening group game with Namibia in Cairo, the Atlas Lions' tournament preparations have been far from ideal. With 2 defeats from 2 against, on paper, far inferior opposition in Gambia and Zambia as well as the whole Abderrazak Hamdallah debacle which I don't even want to go into, Morocco have gone from many people's top 3 tournament favourites to a team that may struggle to make the latter stages of the competition. 

Herve Renard played 2 completely different elevens in each half of the Gambia game but looked to have played a near full-strength team against Zambia, only opting to use 5 second half substitutes. Apart from Hakim Ziyech and possibly Nordin Amrabat, none of the players did much to really cement their place in Renard's starting XI at AFCON. This will give the Frenchman a real headache on which personnel to select against Namibia on June 23rd.

This would be the starting XI i would go with for Morocco's opening group game:

GK- Yassine Bounou

After a good season with a relegated Girona side, Yaccine Bounou has also managed to establish himself as Morocco's number 1 goalkeeper after Renard opted to start Munir during our 2018 World Cup campaign. Although Bounou conceded 4 goals in the 2 recent friendlies, I don't think he was at fault for any of them and I think he'll be a safe pair of hands in the Moroccan goal. 

RB- Noussair Mazraoui

The young full back has had a very good season for Champions League semi-finalists Ajax. After watching Nabil Dirar against Gambia and Zambia, where he looked very slow and weak defensively, I would not want him starting over Mazraoui in Egypt. As long as the Ajax full back is fit for the Namibia game, I hope to see Renard put faith in the youngster rather than the 33-year-old Dirar. 

CB- Medhi Benatia

At 32 years of age, this is probably Medhi Benatia's last tournament for the Atlas Lions. After moving to the Qatari League in January, the captain looked very rusty in the recent friendly matches as the defence conceded some laughable goals. Here's hoping that the former Juventus central defender has got the rust out of his legs ready for June 23rd.

CB- Romain Saiss

After an 'in and out' season with Wolves in the Premier League, Romain Saiss should be the starting centre-back with Benatia. Still has some mistakes in him, but I think he's better on the ball and quicker across the ground than the experienced but erratic Manuel Da costa. 

LB- Achraf Hakimi

This is definitely one of the easier picks, not only because of his brilliant season with Borussia Dortmund, but also because we don't really have any other options. After suffering a foot injury in March, it looked highly unlikely that Hakimi would recover in time for AFCON 2019, so it's a huge boost to see him fit and healthy for this tournament. With reports saying Baadi has been confirmed as a replacement for Hamdallah in the squad, we do have a capable back up option should Hakimi suffer an injury. 

CM- Karim El Ahmadi

A mainstay in the team under Renard, this will certainly be the last tournament that El Ahamdi will be part of the Moroccan squad. After watching him against Gambia and Zambia, it seems that he has lost a yard or two of pace since his great performances at the 2018 World Cup. Hopefully he can rediscover the form of previous years in Egypt. 

CM- Younes Belhanda

This position is a tough one for me. I don't really think this is Belhanda's best position but I'm not sure we have much better in this area. Mbark Boussoufa is 34 and has played just a dozen or so games in the second half of the season for Al Shabab in Saudi Arabia. Ait Bennasser and Bourabia are not really favoured by Renard and I don't think Fajr is good enough to start. If Belhanda is on his game, he's a great asset for this Moroccan side but there's never enough consistency with him. If he fails to deliver against Namibia, I hope Renard gives another midfielder a chance against Ivory Coast and South Africa. 

RM- Nordin Amrabat

The warrior that is Nordin Amrabat is still a main figure in this Moroccan team after a memorable World Cup in Russia. One of Renard's most trusted players who gives nothing but 100% when he's on the pitch. He also showed against Zambia that he can put some good crosses in for the other attackers. After missing out on AFCON in Gabon in 2017 through injury, he'll be wanting to make a real impact in Egypt this time round. 

CAM- Hakim Ziyech

What more can be said of Morocco's star man Hakim Ziyech. We are so heavily reliant on the 26 year-old to make something happen in attack, whether that be creating chances through brilliant balls into the box or creating his own space to fire shots in from range, which we've seen him do on a regular occurrence for club and country. Just in the games with Gambia and Zambia, you could see the mesmeric balls he was putting on a plate which were not being rewarded with the finish. I expect him to light up the tournament in Egypt but he'll need his teammates to be able to do his work justice when it comes to converting from his excellent deliveries. 

LM- Sofiane Boufal

The tricky winger, who completed more dribbles than any other player in Europe's top 5 leagues last season, still lacks an end product to compliment his brilliant dribbling ability. It is between Boufal and Oussama Idrissi for this spot but Renard seems to prefer Boufal, and if he can get his act together in the final third when it comes to creating and finishing, he could very important for the Atlas Lions. However, if he disappoints against Namibia, I feel that Renard should give Idrissi a start against Ivory Coast. 

ST- Youssef En-Nesyri

The Leganes forward has really kicked on after scoring against Spain at the World Cup, scoring 9 La Liga goals this season and overtaking Khalid Boutaib as Morocco's main striker. He had some good chances against Gambia and Zambia, winning a penalty through good pressing where he was probably about to score.  Although still only 22 and has a lot of improvements to make to his all round game, he definitely brings more to the team than Boutaib, who is far to static and slow to be starting for Morocco now. Hopefully, En-Nesyri can finish off the chances created by the likes of Ziyech and Amrabat in Egypt.