Morocco May Play Against Brazil in Friendly Game Ahead of World Cup

Rabat – Faouzi Lekjaa, the head of Morocco’s Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) and FIFA council member, has revealed plans to hold a friendly game between Morocco’s Atlas Lions and Brazil’s Selecao Canarinho.

In an interview on Wednesday with Soccer 212, Lekjaa said that he has begun discussions with the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) to hold a friendly match between the two countries in the coming months.

The two representatives last met on April 1 during the World Cup final draw at the FIFA Congress in Doha, Qatar.

“The next potential dates are June. We will be able to organize two matches, and, as Europe will be playing in the League of Nations, we are looking for teams from Latin America,” Lekjaa said.

A Morocco-Brazil match could serve as an opportunity for both countries to benefit from a warm-up game before the Qatar 2022 World Cup, which is scheduled from November 21 to December 18.

“We do not fear playing against big football teams because we believe that Morocco has a great football team as well,” Lekjaa added.

Morocco’s national football team has gained four places in the latest global FIFA ranking, occupying 24th place worldwide – out of 211 teams – and ranking second in Africa.

Lekjaa also highlighted that the previous experiences of players who already participated in the 2018 World Cup in Russia would further reinforce the team’s experience and readiness in the coming competition.

Morocco guaranteed its spot in the World Cup after triumphing over DR Congo 5-2 on aggregate in a two-legged confrontation in Africa’s World Cup playoffs.

During the 2022 FIFA World Cup draw in Qatar last week, the Atlas Lions landed in group F and will play against Croatia, Canada, and Belgium.

Brazil was placed in Group G alongside Serbia, Switzerland, and Cameroon.

Lekjaa said that the FRMF held talks with Morocco’s National Tourism Office (ONMT), the national carrier Royal air Maroc, and Qatar Airways to prepare travel packages for Moroccans to travel and attend the coming World Cup matches.

“We are working alongside our Qatari counterparts, with several airlines and with tourism operators to put in place all the necessary conditions so that Moroccans can spend a pleasant stay in Qatar and support the national team,” he explained.

Of the the rift between Morocco’s coach Vahid Halilhodzic world-class Moroccan players like Hakim Ziyech and Noussair Mazraoui, Lekjaa expressed his readiness to resolve team conflicts to increase the Atlas Lions’ chnaces of making an impression at the World Cup.

“There are problems going on that should, and will be fixed, which will enable Ziyech and Mazraoui to return to the national team,” he said.

As Morocco prepared to take part in the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), fans of the Atlas Lions were shocked to discover that Ziyech was not part of the Moroccan squad.

To justify his decision to exclude the Chelsea playmaker from his AFCON team, Halilhodzic repeatedly argued that his refusal to call up Ziyech to the national team was due to the midfielder’s “unacceptable behavior.”

Even after Moroccan fans roasted him following Morocco’s frustrating AFCON exit, with many calling out his “self-defeating” decision to exclude world-class players like Ziyech and Ajax’s Noussair Mazroui, Halilhozdic stood by his choice.

With Lekjaa pledging to help settle Halilhodzic’s issues with some red-listed players, the question among Moroccan fans now is whether the Atlas Lions’ Franco-Bosnian coach will for once put the Moroccan national team’s interest before his ego and his long-running friction with players whose presence on the team will considerably increase Morocco’s chances of making it out of a tough World Cup group.