Morocco vs Malawi AFCON Round of 16 Preview 🇲🇦🦁

It's so far, so good for Vahid Halilhodzic and his Atlas Lions as Morocco topped Group D at AFCON 2021 with seven points from nine. It hasn't been all plain sailing, with injury issues and Covid concerns destabilising preparations for the tournament in Cameroon.

The Story So Far

Morocco got off to a slow start against Ghana in the opening match, but ultimately edged a tight encounter thanks to a Sofiane Boufal strike. Against Comoros, they ran out 2-0 winners but were guilty of wasting countless chances in a frustrating game with the AFCON newcomers. In the final group game with Gabon, Halilhodzic opted to make some changes having already qualified for the round of 16 and it almost cost Morocco. A penalty from Boufal and an outstanding free-kick from Achraf Hakimi rescued a point in an otherwise poor display. All in all, a solid if unspectacular group stage where the Atlas Lions got the job done, finishing top of the group and therefore matching up with Malawi in the first knockout round.

The Bright Sparks

It has been interesting to see that some of the better performers so far for Morocco are those that were not really involved during the faultless World Cup Qualifying campaign in the autumn. The first of those has to be Sofiane Boufal. The Angers forward started just one of the six World Cup Qualifiers and was utilised mainly as a 'super sub' by Halilhodzic but he's firmly cemented his place in the starting XI now. He's finally showing some end product for Morocco, scoring against Ghana and Gabon while creating a number of chances for his teammates. His celebration against Ghana was telling as he ran to embrace the head coach, who had spoken about wanting more from Boufal other than dribbling past opposition players.

Another surprise performer in the group stage was Selim Amallah, who again hasn't been a regular of late for Morocco and has split opinion amongst supporters. In the game with Comoros, he showed the composure in the final third that the rest of the team lacked, taking his goal well early in the first half and setting up Aboukhlal late in the second half. Going off these recent performances, it would be big surprise not to see Amallah in the starting XI against Malawi.

Striker Conundrum

One of the main issues for Vahid will be who he selects to play up front. None of Ayoub El Kaabi, Youssef En-Nesyri, Tarik Tissoudali or Ryan Mmaee have scored at the tournament as of yet, with Mmaee playing zero minutes in Cameroon so far due to injury.

In Mmaee's case, it has been a huge shame that he has yet to appear for Morocco as he was just showing his capabilities in the World Cup Qualifiers and this could've been a massive tournament for him. Hopefully, he will be fit enough to at least feature against Malawi on Tuesday and be a fantastic weapon to use in the latter stages of AFCON.

El Kaabi started against Comoros and Gabon having missed the Ghana game with Covid. He has worked hard off the ball and got into some promising positions but hasn't shown enough composure in front of goal whether that be shooting or setting up a teammate.

Youssef En-Nesyri also missed the Ghana game and on his return from the bench against Comoros missed a penalty, which would have given his confidence a huge lift. The Sevilla frontman has struggled this season with injury and his performances for Morocco of late haven't been great. However, he has proved in previous international tournaments that he can score goals a be a big game player.

The late inclusion of Tissoudali was an interesting one and he has shown glimpses of what he can do but can Halilhodzic trust him to start in a big knockout game at AFCON? These are some big questions that the coaching staff must figure out as Malawi have shown by holding favourites Senegel to a 0-0 draw that they will be no pushovers.

Predicted XI

There have been some injury concerns with some important players ahead of the match on Tuesday evening, with both Yaccine Bounou and Achraf Hakimi missing some training sessions. Bounou has since returned to full training and Vahid has said he is optimistic on Hakimi's chances of being available for the game. The predicted XI is below.

Prediction

At AFCON, there are no easy games. Just look at Algeria and Ghana finishing bottom of there groups and Nigeria losing to a Covid-hit Tunisia side in their round of 16 matchup. As stated previously, Malawi have shown that they are a well-drilled side, beating Zimbabwe 2-1, losing narrowly to Guinea and holding Senegal to a goalless draw.. It seems unlikely that this will be a goal fest but Morocco should have just enough to come out with 1-0 win.

Dima Maghrib!