Jordan’s Coach Sees Moroccan Squad as 'Dark Horse' in World Cup

Jordan’s head coach Adnan Hamad has lauded the professionalism of the Moroccan national football team ahead of the Qatar World Cup.

Rabat – Jordan’s head coach Adnan Hamad has lauded the professionalism of the Moroccan national football team ahead of the Qatar World Cup.

“The Moroccan team is considered the best Arab team playing in the Qatar World Cup,” Hamad told Al Jazeera while sharing his expectations for the four Arab teams taking part in the tournament, Qatar, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco.

The Iraqi coach and former football player argued that the “Moroccan team has the best set of players, and the opportunity is in their hands to be the dark horse of the tournament.”

The Moroccan squad has 20 professional players with well-established careers in major European leagues, which gives Morocco “a major chance of progressing from the group,” according to Hamad.

The FIFA World Cup draw placed Morocco in Group F alongside Belgium, Canada, and Croatia, the runner-up of the 2018 Russia World Cup.

The Atlas Lions are expected to be met with fierce competition from Belgium which currently ranks second worldwide and Croatia which wants to secure the cup after a close loss to France in the 2018 final. The Vatreni are the 12th best team in the world, 10 places ahead of the Moroccan squad.

Canada currently ranks 41st globally and is another solid opponent. The team succeeded in securing victories in the qualifiers against better-ranked teams such as Mexico (13th) and the US (16th).

With less than two weeks before the big event, Morocco’s head coach Walid Regragui is determined to unleash the selected squad’s full potential.“We’re fortunate to have an array of talent at our disposal and also players who have matured at great clubs,” Regragui said in an interview with FIFA, adding that the squad aspires to do its best in the tournament and “make fans proud.”

But the ultimate goal remains to pass the first phase. “If we get past the group stage, a feat we have only achieved once, in 1986, then it could be regarded as a successful campaign,” the Moroccan coach said.