 "Morocco World Cup squad: Renard's defensive firepower to take on biggies")
Two-time 'Africa Cup of Nations' winning coach Herve Renard announced a provisional list of 23 players and three reserves that will make up the North African team, who will return to the World Cup after an absence of 20 years.
The Atlas Lions will be hoping to repeat their achievement from the 1986 World Cup when they surged into the last 16, holding England and Poland to goalless draws before defeating Portugal to top their group.
Unusually for a national team, over half the players heading to Russia were born outside of Morocco, in either France, Spain, or the Netherlands. However, FIFA rules on nationality and citizenship allow them to represent the north African country internationally.
Morocco is grouped with the 2010 World Cup winners Spain, European Championship title holders Portugal and Asian powerhouse Iran in a tough Group B.
With the Iberian duo widely considered strong favourites to progress far into the knock-out stages of the tournament, the Morocco squad, arrive in Russia as underdogs and will have to play very well in order to secure a last 16 berth.
In their last round of qualification, Renard's men finished top of a group containing Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Gabon and Mali, maintaining a six-game unbeaten streak without conceding a single goal and scoring 11 in the process. The Atlas Lions are known to play possession-based football and press aggressively in defence.
In a group like this, a defensive approach will be the order of the day, and Morocco's defence is boosted with the presence of Juventus center-back Medhi Benatia. A former Italian Serie A all-star player, Benatia also captains the team and his leadership both on and off the pitch will be crucial to the teams success.
The Atlas Lions list for the prestigious tournament did not include the name of Al Ahly striker and Egyptian Premier League top scorer, Wualid Azaro, who marked his return to the national team last March. Additionally, Al Hilal forward Achraf Bencharki wasn’t named among the squad after Moroccan reports claimed he would be called. Southampton's out of favour midfielder Sofiane Boufal also misses the train to Russia.
The Atlas Lions list for the prestigious tournament did not include the name of Al Ahly striker and Egyptian Premier League top scorer, Wualid Azaro, who marked his return to the national team last March. Additionally, Al Hilal forward Achraf Bencharki wasn’t named among the squad after Moroccan reports claimed he would be called. Southampton's out of favour midfielder Sofiane Boufal also misses the train to Russia.
Further forward, 25-year-old Ajax midfielder Hakim Ziyech is the fulcrum of Morocco's attacking play. The former Netherlands U-21 international scored nine goals and made a league-leading 15 assists in the Dutch Eredivisie this season, being named Dutch Footballer of the Year for his contribution to the team.
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The rising star Achraf Hakimi, fresh from the Champions League victory with Real Madrid will bolster Morocco's defence as well as offensive wing-play.
Renard's Atlas Lions will play Ukraine on 31 May and Slovakia on 4 June (both games in Geneva, Switzerland) before taking on Estonia in Tallinn on 9 June.
Here is the full list of Morocco's 23-member provisional squad (with three reserves):
Goalkeepers: Mounir El Kajoui (Numancia, Spain), Yassine Bounou (Girona, Spain), Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti (Ittihad Tanger);
Defenders: Mehdi Benatia (Juventus, Italy), Romain Saiss (Wolverhampton Wanderers, England), Manuel Da Costa (Basaksehir, Turkey), Badr Benoun (Raja Casablanca), Nabil Dirar (Fenerbahce, Turkey), Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid, Spain), Hamza Mendyl (Lille, France);
Midfielders: M'bark Boussoufa (Al Jazira, UAE), Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord, Netherlands), Youssef Ait Bennasser (Caen, France), Sofyan Amrabat (Feyenoord, Netherlands), Younes Belhanda (Galatasaray, Turkey), Faycal Fajr (Getafe, Spain), Amine Harit (Schalke, Germany);
Forwards: Khalid Boutaib (Malatyaspor, Turkey), Aziz Bouhaddouz (St. Pauli, Germany), Ayoub El Kaabi (Renaissance Berkane), Nordin Amrabat (Leganes, Spain), Mehdi Carcela (Standard de Liege, Belgium), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax, Netherlands).
Players who missed out: Wualid Azaro (Al Ahly, Egypt), Achraf Bencharki (Al Hilal, Saudi Arabia), Sofiane Boufal (Southampton, England)