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Black Atlas is cautious
In an in-depth tactical analysis, respected French newspaper L’Equipe has warned his national team of the exceptional danger of their next opponents, Morocco, in next Thursday’s World Cup quarter-finals, stressing that “the Atlas Lions love nothing more than wide open spaces and fast, powerful attacks”.
Under the headline “Morocco, France’s future rival at the World Cup, loves football, but most love open spaces”, the newspaper detailed the performance of the Moroccan national team in the 3-0 victory over Canada in the round of 16 yesterday, Saturday, revealing the nature of its football project.
L’Equipe watched Morocco suffer in the first half as almost 50% of the play took place in its defensive third despite its 66.5% ball control and only one shot on target with 0.02 risk, praising the tactical acumen of Canada coach Jesse March, who closed down the interior and closed in on Morsipcherokee.
But after adjustments at half-time, the real Morocco returned in the second half, able to play long and force closeness between their forward heads, with the brilliance of Azedine Ounahi, who the paper described as “he has freedom and knows how to do damage in big spaces”.
L’Equipe revealed some worrying numbers for the Roosters, as Morocco (like France) scored the most goals from counter-attacks at the World Cup with 3, and are also among the teams to create the most threats in quick succession at 0.33 xG (per game).
The newspaper notes that Morocco may lose Bayern Munich player Ismail Saibari, who was injured in the match against Canada, commenting sarcastically. “The Roosters won’t complain about that”, especially as Didier Deschamps’ side were “shocked” when they turned to quick defense in their 3-1 win against Senegal.
L’Equipe described the clash as “exciting” between two teams that “love when the game is open”, warning France of the need to focus on counter-pressing and controlling Morocco’s quick attack.
“Trying to deprive Morocco of the ball usually means opening the door to their preferred scenario,” putting his national team in a difficult equation.
