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Fez – Morocco’s Atlas Lions again proved loyal to their outstanding performance in the 2021 FIFA Arab World Cup, disposing of Saudi Arabia 1-0 this evening at Al Thumama Stadium.
Moroccan coach, Lhoussine Ammouta, chose to start the game with a 4-3-3 lineup.
With the stakes far lower than in the previous two games, Morocco having already qualified for the quarter finals, Ali Mhamdi replaced Anas Zniti as the goalkeeper.
In his pre-match interview, Ammouta hinted at a heavy change of personnel as he rested a number of starters for the next, more consequential round.
“After the effort put in in the previous matches, we are sure that we are thinking of the rotation and the inclusion of new elements,” he said.
And so, while Morocco was spectacular and suffocating to play against in the previous two games, today’s match against Saudi Arabia proved much tougher for the Atlas Lions.
Still, despite the heroics of the Saudi goalkeeper and the overall compactness of Saudi Arabia’s team, the superior technical and tactical prowess of Ammouta’s men eventually got the better of the Saudis.
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The Atlas Lions won a penalty in the closing stages of the first half of the game, and Karim El Berkaoui calmly converted.
That would be the only goal of the evening, although the second half was as intense and full of suspense as the first.
The second half started with Saudi players determined to get back to the game and score a goal for honor, pride.
But Ammouta’s men gave it their all to keep a perfect record in the group stages, making many Moroccan fans proud of a team with the potential and mindset to win the tournament.
Having collected 9 points out of nine and three consecutive clean sheets to make it to the next round, the Atlas Lions have decisively announced themselves as champion material.
But then again, with the quality of the next opponents – Algeria or Egypt in the quarter finals – the Moroccans Lions still have higher hills to climb as they set their eyes on the final, highest prize at the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup.
