Match Previews
World Cup 2018
Round Group B
Morocco
Last updated: Fri 15 June 2018 09:50Morocco do not have any players suspended for their opening game. They have one injury concern, with starting right-back Nabil Dirar still doubtful even though he has returned to training .
Morocco come into this tournament in excellent form, as they have not lost in over a year.
The most recent result in their 18-match unbeaten run was a 3-1 victory over Estonia, while they had also beaten Slovakia 2-1 and drawn 0-0 with Ukraine as part of their World Cup build-up.
Morocco do not have any players suspended for their opening match of the tournament.
Nabil Dirar has had a calf injury and is, therefore, doubtful, even if he has now returned to training. He is a right winger, but had been playing right-back. In the Estonia friendly, for which he was also injured, Morocco coach Herve Renard played another right winger, Nordin Amrabat, at right-back in the absence of Dirar and played the young-but-talented Amine Harit as a winger.
Achraf Hakimi, the natural right-back who is the starting left-back, was also a doubt with a shoulder injury, yet he has now recovered and should be available.
Morocco have a lot of players who are playing in secondary positions, especially in defence, where natural central midfielder Romain Saïss plays centre-back, where natural right winger Nabil Dirar will play at right-back (if he is fit) and where natural right-back Achraf Hakimi plays left-back.
Iran
Last updated: Fri 15 June 2018 10:03Iran debut in the World Cup against Morocco aiming at a success. They last beat Lithuania 1-0 in a friendly. Rezaeian, Dejagah and Torabi are doubtful. Taremi with the group. Ezatolahi will be banned.
Iran played their last friendly before debuting in the World Cup against Lithuania behind closed doors. They did not play a great match as they were put under heavy pressure for the whole game. However, they eventually managed to strike a winner just before the injury time.
Ansarifard scored the winner.
Iran will aim at starting off their campaign with a success over Morocco.
This is their fifth participation to a World Cup. So far, they picked up just 1 win, 3 draws and 8 defeats.
Dejagah, Rezaeian and Torabi are all dealing with some physical issues picked up against Lithuania and their conditions need to be verified. Good news arrive from Taremi, who resumes regular training with the group.
Gholizadeh was eventually dropped from the extended 24-man squad.
Shojaei and Hajisafi surprisingly made the squad despite being unofficially banned by the Iranian football board for playing against some Israeli sides.
Coach Queiroz usually opts for a defensive-minded system with just one striker.
It was confirmed that Ezatolahi will have to be serving a ban for this one.
Shojaei could also be considered for the heart of the defence. Ghoddos or Amiri could represent an alternative to Taremi among the starters.
This is the first time Iran face Morocco ever.
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4-2-3-1 Previous Line Ups
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Munir M. | |||
| N. Amrabat | |||
| M. Benatia | |||
| R. Saiss | |||
| A. Hakimi | |||
| M. Boussoufa | |||
| K. Al Ahmadi | |||
| A. Harit | |||
| H. Ziyech | |||
| Y. Belhanda | |||
| K. Boutaib |
4-1-4-1 Previous Line Ups
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Beiranvand | |||
| R. Rezaeian | |||
| R. Cheshmi | |||
| M. Pouraliganji | |||
| M. Mohammadi | |||
| O. Ebrahimi | |||
| A. Jahanbakhsh | |||
| M. Shojaei | |||
| E. Hajsafi | |||
| V. Amiri | |||
| S. Azmoun |
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Munir M. | |||
| N. Amrabat | |||
| M. Benatia | |||
| R. Saiss | |||
| A. Hakimi | |||
| M. Boussoufa | |||
| K. Al Ahmadi | |||
| A. Harit | |||
| H. Ziyech | |||
| Y. Belhanda | |||
| K. Boutaib |
Iran
Last updated: Fri 15 June 2018 10:03Iran debut in the World Cup against Morocco aiming at a success. They last beat Lithuania 1-0 in a friendly. Rezaeian, Dejagah and Torabi are doubtful. Taremi with the group. Ezatolahi will be banned.
Iran played their last friendly before debuting in the World Cup against Lithuania behind closed doors. They did not play a great match as they were put under heavy pressure for the whole game. However, they eventually managed to strike a winner just before the injury time.
Ansarifard scored the winner.
Iran will aim at starting off their campaign with a success over Morocco.
This is their fifth participation to a World Cup. So far, they picked up just 1 win, 3 draws and 8 defeats.
Dejagah, Rezaeian and Torabi are all dealing with some physical issues picked up against Lithuania and their conditions need to be verified. Good news arrive from Taremi, who resumes regular training with the group.
Gholizadeh was eventually dropped from the extended 24-man squad.
Shojaei and Hajisafi surprisingly made the squad despite being unofficially banned by the Iranian football board for playing against some Israeli sides.
Coach Queiroz usually opts for a defensive-minded system with just one striker.
It was confirmed that Ezatolahi will have to be serving a ban for this one.
Shojaei could also be considered for the heart of the defence. Ghoddos or Amiri could represent an alternative to Taremi among the starters.
This is the first time Iran face Morocco ever.
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Beiranvand | |||
| R. Rezaeian | |||
| R. Cheshmi | |||
| M. Pouraliganji | |||
| M. Mohammadi | |||
| O. Ebrahimi | |||
| A. Jahanbakhsh | |||
| M. Shojaei | |||
| E. Hajsafi | |||
| V. Amiri | |||
| S. Azmoun |