Making their first appearance at the Club World Cup since 2017, Wydad AC host Saudi Arabian champions Al-Hilal on Saturday at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat with a spot in the semi-finals on the line.
Last May, the Moroccans captured the CAF Champions League in Africa for the third time, defeating Al Ahly 2-0, while Al-Za'eem finished fourth in this competition a year ago.
Match preview
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After becoming the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final last December, Moroccan football is again in the spotlight this weekend as Wydad can become the first African club to make the final four of this competition since Raja Casablanca were runners-up in 2013.
To get to this tournament, they took out the most successful African club in the CAF Champions League, scoring the most goals in the group stage (15) while going unbeaten on home soil.
It is the third time that Morocco have hosted this event and the first since 2014, as Wydad have yet to win a match at this competition, losing to Mexican side Pachuca in extra time (1-0) over five years ago and dropping their fifth-place match 3-2 versus Urawa Red Diamonds.
With Mehdi Nafti now at the controls, Wydad have been rock solid along the backline, posting six successive clean sheets and sitting second in the Botola, two points behind FAR Rabat.
Saturday will be the first time they face a side from Saudi Arabia, while they come into this encounter having suffered just one defeat in their last 11 fixtures against teams outside of Morocco.
Wydad have not allowed a goal in the first half all year, failing to concede an opening strike since falling 2-0 in the CAF Super Cup Final last September versus RSB Berkane.
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The lucrative signing of Cristiano Ronaldo to Al Nassr has drawn unprecedented global attention to the Saudi Pro League, but on Saturday, that spotlight will shine on Al-Hilal, who will be featuring at the Club World Cup for the third time.
Ronaldo joining Al-Hilal's arch-rivals seems to have triggered a massive reaction, with the 22-time Saudi champions reportedly offering Lionel Messi a whopping $350m (£282.5m) contract, according to Forbes, which, if true, shows us the kind of financial muscle they possess.
Last Thursday, their 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions ended as Ramon Diaz saw his side fall 1-0 to Al Feiha in the semi-final of the Saudi Super Cup.
That was the first time they failed to find the back of the net in a competitive fixture since a 0-0 draw with Ettifaq last October, as they currently trail Al Nassr by a single point for the league lead, with just one domestic defeat thus far in 2022-23.
In their two previous appearances at this competition, they have never lost a second-round affair, crushing Al Jazira 6-1 at this stage last February and squeaking past Esperance de Tunis 1-0 in 2019.
Al-Za'eem bring plenty of quality to Morocco, as nearly a dozen players who represented Saudi Arabia at the previous World Cup are currently featuring with the four-time AFC Champions League winners.
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Zouhair El Moutaraji and Yahya Jabrane provided Wydad with plenty of firepower during their run to the African Champions League title, scoring five and four goals respectively, while this team have only conceded once all year with Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti collecting five successive clean sheets since replacing Youssef El Motie who had a shutout versus Moghred Tetouan.
Ayman El Hassouni has six goals domestically this season, putting him in a tie for third in the Botola, and he is the only player to find the scoresheet for them in their previous four fixtures, while he, Arsene Zola, Imad Khannouss and El Moutaraji are the only ones who have netted for them this year.
Five newcomers were inserted into the starting 11 for their clash against FUS Rabat, which they drew 0-0, including Zola, Yahia Attiyat Allah, Abdellah Haimoud, Ayoub El Amloud and Hamid Ahadad.
Odion Ighalo has eight goals on the current domestic campaign for Al-Hilal, putting him third in league scoring, as he, Mohamed Kanno, Salem Al-Dawsari, Moussa Marega, Andre Carrillo and former striker Matheus Pereira all scored when they defeated Al Jazira in the second round of this competition last year.
Al-Dawsari has a goal in each of his last two domestic affairs, as he and Jang Hyun-soo scored when they defeated Abha 2-1.
Diaz made three changes to his starting lineup at the Saudi Super Cup last Thursday, with Kanno, Abdullah Al-Mayouf and Abdullah Al-Hamdan replacing Mohammed Al-Owais, Michael and Luciano Vietto.
Wydad AC possible starting lineup:
Tagnaouti; Zola, Farhane, Aboulfath, El Amloud; Jabrane, Haimoud; Ellafi, Jaadi, Serrhat; El Hassouni
Al-Hilal possible starting lineup:
Al-Owais; N. Al-Dawsari, Al-Bulaihi, Jang, Abdulhamid; Vietto, Cuellar, S. Al-Dawsari; Michael, Al-Sherhi, Marega
We say: Wydad AC 1-2 Al-Hilal (after extra-time)
While the Moroccans have been tough defensively all year long, it is hard to judge that body of work given that all of their clean sheets in 2023 have occurred during the domestic campaign.
On Saturday, they will have to contend with a Saudi squad who have plenty of cohesion, firepower and experience in these tournaments, all attributes that we believe will propel Al-Halal to a narrow victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
