Kenya Sport

Morocco Faces Scotland in Crucial World Cup Clash

Morocco arrive in Foxborough with a curious burden. Four years on from that stirring run to fourth place in Qatar, they are still waiting for a first win at the 2026 World Cup.

They have not played badly. Far from it. Ismael Saibari’s opener against Brazil in their Group C curtain-raiser hinted at a team ready to pick up where it left off in 2022. They went toe-to-toe with one of the tournament favourites, pressed high, and struck first.

But Vini Jr. answered in the 32nd minute, and the game settled into a stalemate that left Morocco with a point and a lingering sense of opportunity missed.

Now comes Scotland. A different kind of test, but one loaded with consequence.

A heavy Tartan backdrop

Gillette Stadium will feel like a slice of Glasgow on June 19. Scotland, buoyed by a tournament-opening win over Haiti, top Group C and travel with a fanbase that never does “quiet backing.” The Tartan Army will turn Foxborough into a wall of noise.

Scotland’s World Cup history is littered with frustration: eight previous appearances, not one escape from the group stage. That record gives this campaign an edge. Points against Morocco would drag them closer to the knockout rounds than any generation before them.

Morocco, meanwhile, cannot afford to drift. One point from Brazil is respectable. One point from two games would not be.

How Morocco are likely to line up

Mohamed Ouahbi has options, but his core looks settled. Against Scotland, the shape should echo the Brazil game: a back four, double pivot, and a line of three creators behind Saibari.

Projected XI vs. Scotland

  • Goalkeeper: Bono
  • Defenders:
    • Achraf Hakimi
    • Issa Diop
    • Chadi Riad
    • Noussair Mazraoui
  • Defensive midfielders:
    • Ayyoub Bouaddi
    • Neil El Aynaoui
  • Attacking midfielders:
    • Brahim Diaz
    • Azzedine Ounahi
    • Bilal El Khannouss
  • Striker: Ismael Saibari

Bono brings calm and experience in goal, the familiar anchor of a side that has grown used to playing on the big stage. In front of him, Hakimi and Mazraoui give Morocco a rare luxury: two full-backs who can both defend and drive the game from wide areas, stepping into midfield or overlapping with pace.

Diop and Chadi Riad offer height and physicality at centre-back, crucial against a Scotland side that will test them in the air and at set pieces.

The double pivot of Bouaddi and El Aynaoui provides balance. They will be asked to screen, recycle, and release the more expressive talents ahead of them. If they win their duels, Morocco’s front four can start to dictate.

That front four is where the game could tilt. Brahim Diaz, operating between the lines, brings guile and the ability to turn in tight spaces. Ounahi’s running from midfield can unhinge defensive shapes, while El Khannouss offers vision and subtlety, knitting moves together.

And then there is Saibari. Listed as a midfielder in the squad but trusted as the central striker, he has already stamped his mark on this World Cup with that goal against Brazil. His movement, dropping off the centre-backs and spinning into channels, will ask different questions of Scotland than Haiti managed.

Schedule and stakes

Morocco know the path. After Scotland in Foxborough on June 19, they fly south to Atlanta for a June 24 meeting with Haiti at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. On paper, that Haiti game looks like the most winnable fixture. In reality, it may only matter if they take something substantial from Scotland.

Four points from two games would put Morocco in a commanding position. Two points would drag them into a final-day scramble. The margins are that fine.

Depth behind the likely XI

Ouahbi’s 26-man squad gives him room to adjust without losing identity.

In goal, Bono is backed up by Munir El Kajoui (RS Berkane) and Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti (AS FAR), solid options should anything unexpected happen.

Defensively, the coach can turn to Anass Salah-Eddine (PSV), Youssef Belammari (Al Ahly), Nayef Aguerd (Marseille), Redouane Halhal (Mechelen) and Zakaria El Ouahdi (Genk), with Marwane Saâdane (Al Fateh) drafted in after Aguerd’s withdrawal. Hakimi and Mazraoui headline, but there is cover in every position.

Midfield is equally competitive. Alongside Bouaddi, El Aynaoui, Ounahi, El Khannouss and Saibari, Ouahbi can call on Samir El Mourabet (Strasbourg) and Sofyan Amrabat (Real Betis), both capable of tightening games or changing their tempo.

Up front, the options are varied: Abde Ezzalzouli’s place has gone to Amine Sbaï (Angers), while Chemsdine Talbi (Sunderland), Soufiane Rahimi (Al Ain), Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiacos), Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid), Gessime Yassine (Strasbourg) and Ayoube Amaimouni (Eintracht Frankfurt) round out a forward line that mixes European pedigree with emerging talent.

The tools are there. The question is whether Morocco can turn them into that elusive first win of this World Cup, in the teeth of a Scottish surge and under the gaze of a crowd that will roar for every tackle in dark blue.

For a team that once stunned the world in Qatar, this is not about nostalgia. It is about proving that 2022 was not a one-off, but the new standard.

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