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Rabat—Morocco plays Colombia in the Kings World Cup Nations today at 6 p.m. Moroccan time at the KL Arena in Milano, Italy.
Fans can catch the live stream on the official Kings League YouTube and Twitch accounts, and catch Ilyas El Maliki’s hilarious commentary on the streaming platform KICK.
Morocco started their campaign woefully, losing to Colombia 4-1 in a game in which most Moroccan players looked clueless on the field.
After the game, players said they had arrived late to the camp and had not had enough time to learn the rules and intricacies of the game. They played a friendly game against Ukraine and won 6-5.
Morocco have since been on a good run winning their last three games convincingly. The Atlas Lions showed great force against an ailing Ukrainian defense beating them 9-2. They then won 4-2 against Japan in the last-chance round.
The Moroccan team qualified for the quarterfinals and took on the United States in a high-stakes game Wednesday. Both teams bad-mouthed each other during the warm-up session, according to reports. Nevertheless, it was a thrilling game and ended in a 7-7 draw at the end of regular time, after which both teams progressed to breath-stopping penalty shootouts.
At the end of the game, Morocco won 2-1 on penalties and is now set to meet Colombia – again – in the semi-finals.
Colombia has been on a winning streak since the start of the competition. They kicked off their campaign with a 4-1 against Morocco, clinched a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Turkiye, and went on to the quarterfinals to cruise past Uzbekistan 6-1.
The Colombians have scored 13 goals so far in three games, and have been quite solid at the back after conceding only four.
The Moroccan squad boasts a muscular attacking setup led by the two-time MVP Nadir Louah. Since the start of their campaign, they have bagged 21 goals in four games, while conceding 15. The defensive line needs to be on their toes to wane the Colombian attacking force.
Both teams are eager to qualify for the final to be played next Sunday, January 12, at the Juventus fortress – Allianz Stadium, Torino.
Meanwhile, the competition has soared in popularity in Morocco. The live-streamed games of the national team have seen a staggering two million views per game across all streaming platforms.
The Kings League was founded by former Barcelona star Gerard Piqué and the streamer Ibai Llanos. The games combine amateur players, professionals, and veterans for a fresh change from traditional leagues.
Games have two 20-minute halves and ties are decided by penalty shootouts.
Each team has 10 players — 7 on the field and 3 substitutes, including a possible guest player.
