Preview: Morocco vs Madagascar - prediction, team news, lineups

Fresh from a 5-0 friendly victory over Burundi, Morocco return to home soil looking to sharpen their World Cup preparations further when Madagascar visit the Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah on Tuesday evening.

Mohamed Ouahbi’s side have little more than two weeks before their Group C opener against Brazil, and with the clock ticking down on their preparation time, Tuesday’s fixture represents one of the final opportunities to fine-tune the combinations the Atlas Lions intend to rely upon in North America.

Match preview

Morocco head into Tuesday’s game in strong form, having won four of their last five matches, with the only dropped points coming in a draw against Ecuador in a March friendly.

Their most recent outing produced a commanding 5-0 victory over Burundi last Tuesday - Ouahbi’s third match in charge - with Ayoub El Kaabi and Soufiane Benjdida both netting braces and Tawfik Bentayeb also getting on the scoresheet to round off a highly encouraging performance.

The Atlas Lions carry significant weight into this summer’s World Cup as the first and only African nation to reach the semi-finals of the tournament, having defeated Portugal on their way to that historic achievement at the 2022 edition in Qatar, and the expectation is that Morocco will push deep into the competition once again.

Drawn in Group C alongside Brazil, Scotland and Haiti, Morocco will open their campaign against the five-time world champions on June 13, before facing Scotland on June 19 and concluding the group stage against Haiti on June 24.

Ouahbi, who took charge following Walid Regragui’s departure in March, will use Tuesday’s match against Madagascar and a subsequent friendly against Norway on June 7 to continue testing his options and finalising his preferred systems before the tournament begins.

© Iconsport / PA Images

Madagascar arrive on the back of their own encouraging recent results, having beaten Kyrgyzstan 5-2 and drawn 1-1 with Equatorial Guinea in their two most recent outings, both played away from home.

Corentin Martins’ side finished as runners-up in Group I of the CAF World Cup qualifiers behind Ghana, and were eliminated from contention having not posted one of the best runners-up records across the continent - meaning their next major competitive action will come later in the year when AFCON qualification process resumes.

Tuesday’s fixture gives Madagascar a rare opportunity to test themselves against the African champions, and with nothing to lose against a side ranked nearly 100 places above them in the global standings, Martins may look to play with freedom and use the occasion as a development exercise ahead of that next qualifying round.

The two nations have met twice in the African Nations Championship - both times in the most recent edition in 2025, with Morocco winning the final 3-2, and in the 2023 group stage, where Madagascar claimed a 3-0 victory - though both tournaments are restricted to locally based players, offering limited insight into how a full international between the sides would unfold.

Morocco International Friendlies form:

Morocco form (all competitions):

We say: Morocco 3-0 Madagascar

Ouahbi will want his side to put on a statement performance ahead of the World Cup, and a Madagascar side ranked 104th in the world with little motivation offers the ideal opportunity to do exactly that.

Morocco have scored seven goals in their last two outings and carry an attacking depth that should comfortably overwhelm a Barea side with no competitive stakes on Tuesday - the only question is by how many.

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