In their final warm-up fixture ahead of their FIFA World Cup opener, Morocco go head to head with Georgia at the Sharjah Stadium on Thursday.
Willy Sagnol's men head into the midweek clash off the back of an outstanding run in the UEFA Nations League and will be looking to continue in the same vein.
Match preview
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After a 20-year hiatus, Morocco secured a second consecutive appearance at the World Cup thanks to a fine qualifying campaign earlier this year.
The Atlas Lions picked up six wins from their six matches in Group I to secure top spot and a place in the March'a playoffs, where they edged out Congo DR 5-2 on aggregate.
However, Morocco will head into Qatar looking to improve on their disappointing performance in Russia four years ago, when they finished rock-bottom in Group B after failing to win any of their three matches.
The 1976 African champions head into Qatar in solid form and regardless of Wednesday's result, they will be backing themselves to equal their best-ever campaign, which came in 1986, when they reached the knockout stages.
Morocco, who reached the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year before losing out to Egypt in extra time, are currently unbeaten in five consecutive games across all competitions.
This fine run of results has seen them rise to the top of Group K of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after picking up successive victories over South Africa and Liberia back in June.
Drawn in Group F of the World Cup alongside Croatia, Belgium and Canada, Morocco are among the dark horse candidates in Qatar, given their collective improvement over the last four years.
Walid Regragui's men are making their sixth appearance in the competition and are currently 22nd in the latest FIFA World Rankings — the second-highest ranked nation in Africa.
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Georgia, on the other hand, failed to secure their first-ever appearance at the World Cup after a poor run in the qualifiers, where they finished just two points above rock-bottom Kosovo in Group B.
Sagnol's side lost five of their opening six matches — with a 1-1 draw against Greece on March 31 being the exception — before closing out the campaign with consecutive victories over Kosovo and Sweden.
However, this served as a springboard for a fine run of form as they would go on to pick up two wins and one draw from three friendlies before enjoying a spectacular run in the UEFA Nations League.
The Jvarosnebi finished as one of just five nations to go unbeaten in the campaign after picking up five wins and one draw from their six matches to collect 16 points and clinch top spot in Group C4, seven points above runners-up Bulgaria.
Georgia head into Wednesday on a run of nine wins and two draws in their last 11 outings across all competitions, with their last defeat coming in October 2021, when they suffered a 2-0 home loss at the hands of Greece.
This impressive run has been owing to the solid job done at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have kept eight clean sheets and conceded just four goals since their last defeat.
Team News
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With their World Cup opener coming against Croatia on November 23, we expect Regragui to name a strong XI on Thursday, before making changes in the second half to keep his players fresh.
Achraf Hakimi, Romain Saiss, Nayef Aguerd, and Yahia Attiyat Allah should all start at the defensive end of the pitch, shielding Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou between the sticks.
In attack, Burnley attacker Anass Zaroury was called up to the squad to replace the injured Amine Harit, who has been ruled out of the World Cup following an injury while in action for Marseille last weekend.
Youssef En-Nesyri should spearhead the attack once again while experienced midfielder Sofyan Amrabat, who has 38 senior caps to his name, should be handed a starting role in the centre of the park.
As for Georgia, Sagnol has called up 22 players to the squad, including Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili and 27-year-old midfielder Giorgi Aburjania, who has 35 senior appearances for the Jvarosnebi.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has missed Napoli's last three matches after coming off injured against Liverpool on November 1 and the 21-year-old, who finished with seven goal involvements in the Nations League, will not be involved on Wednesday.
Morocco possible starting lineup:
Bounou; Hakimi, Saiss, Aguerd, Allah; Jabrane, Ounahi, Amrabat; Ziyech, En-Nesyri, Aboukhlal
Georgia possible starting lineup:
Loria; Kvirkvelia, Kashia, Tabidze; Kiteishvili, GAburjania, Davitashvili, Kvekveskiri; Chakvetadze, Kvilitaia, Lobzhanidze
We say: Morocco 2-2 Georgia
While Morocco will be looking to pick up a morale-boosting result ahead of their World Cup opener, they take on an in-form Georgia side who have enjoyed an impressive 2022. We predict an entertaining contest at the Sharjah Stadium with both sides settling for a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
