Sports Mole previews Thursday’s Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying clash between Morocco and South Africa, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Morocco and South Africa kick off their respective 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaigns with a heavyweight clash at the Stade Moulay Abdallah on Thursday.
The teams have been drawn in Group K of the qualifiers where they will contend with Liberia for two automatic slots at next year’s continental event following Zimbabwe’s disqualification by FIFA.
Match preview
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Morocco were left red-faced in their most recent outing which was 3-0 defeat against the United States of America on Wednesday at the TQL Stadium.
Goals from Brenden Aaronson, Timothy Weah and Haji Wright left Vahid Halilhodzic‘s men red-faced in a largely one-sided affair in Cincinnati.
The Atlas Lions have been beaten for what is only a third time in the last two years and they will be seeking an immediate response.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing side who have failed to win any of the last four encounters between the teams since winning each of the first two.
Unbeaten on their own turf since a 3-2 loss at the hands of Gabon back in 2019, Thursday’s hosts will head into the game with the wind in their sails and rightly so.
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South Africa were on the receiving end of a 5-0 thrashing in their most recent involvement on March 29 when they faced off against France.
A Kylian Mbappe brace and further goals from Olivier Giroud, Wissam Ben Yedder and Matteo Guendouzi put Hugo Broos‘s men to the sword at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
The Bafana Bafana have now failed to win any of their last three matches while also failing to find the back of the net in that time.
Aiming to secure a return to the AFCON after missing out on the last edition, Thursday’s visitors will need to turn things around at both ends as soon as possible.
Morocco form (all competitions):
South Africa form (all competitions):
Team News
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Youssef En Nesyri was named as a substitute in Morocco’s defeat against USA but the Sevilla man is expected to lead the line on Thursday.
Other than that, we can see Vahid Halilhodzic naming the same starting XI from the aforementioned game as he will be seeking a reaction from his players.
Hugo Broos has shuffled the pack significantly for the first round of the qualifiers, naming a host of uncapped players in his 28-man squad.
Terrence Mashego has been released from the national-team camp and will not be traveling with the rest of his teammates after he sustained a knee injury.
Morocco possible starting lineup:
Bono; Masina, Aguerd, Saiss, Mmaee, Hakimi; Ounahi, Amrabat, Taarabt; El Kaabi, En Nesyri
South Africa possible starting lineup:
Williams; Maela, Mobbie, Lakay, Phete; Morena, Maart, Maboe; Tau, Dolly, Makgopa
We say: Morocco 2-1 South Africa
Both teams boast a plethora of attacking talent so we expect an open and end-to-end affair with plenty of chances at either end. That said, we are also backing the home side to get the job done and come away with a hard-fought three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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