Match Previews
World Cup 2018
Round Group B
Portugal
Last updated: Wed 20 June 2018 09:56Incredible 3-3 draw against Spain. Ronaldo was the hero with a hat-trick! In need of a win against Morocco. No major injury concerns.
Portugal adopted an aggressive attitude early on against Spain and they immediately took the lead. With the passing of time, though, they were more cautious and left the initiative to their opponents. This way, they were reached to a draw. Having taken the lead again, they had to concede twice and just a goal scored before the injury time saved their day.
Ronaldo was the hero of the night with a fantastic hat-trick. He scored through a penalty kick and a free kick. Bruno Fernandes was given a starting place and he offered a great performance in terms of quality and quantity. On the other hand, Guedes played poorly as he made several mistakes when supposed to defend and when attacking.
Portugal need to take all 3 points from the match against Morocco in order to play the decisive match against Iran counting on 2 results out of 3.
There seem to be no major injury concerns. Ronaldo skipped the training but he does not represent an issue.
Bruno Fernandes is one yellow card away from ban.
Joao Mario could be preferred to Bruno Fernandes on the left flank of the midfield while Andre Silva could prevail over Guedes as Ronaldo's partner in the attack. Ricardo Pereira represents an alternative to Cedric at right-back.
Portugal played only once against Morocco, in the 1986 World Cup, and they lost 3-1.
Morocco
Last updated: Wed 20 June 2018 08:45Morocco do not have any players suspended for this match. They have one injury concern, with Nordin Amrabat needing to pass a fitness test.
Morocco lost their opening match against Iran by a 1-0 scoreline, with substitute Aziz Bouhaddouz scoring an unfortunate own goal in stoppage time of a match that they'd dominated the possession battle.
That result ended Morocco's 18-match unbeaten run, following their impressive qualifying campaign.
There are no Morocco players suspended for this second match of the group stages against Portugal.
Morocco have a doubt over winger Nordin Amrabat, who suffered a concussion in the match against Iran and who had to be taken off. He has a chance of coming back in time for this one, but he'll have to pass a late fitness test.
Manuel Da Costa was a doubt as well, with the backup defender having suffered a thigh injury, but he has now recovered.
For this match, Nabil Dirar should be back from his calf injury. He is their starting right-back (even if he is naturally a winger) but missed the first game as he wasn't 100 percent fit.
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 and where natural right-back Achraf Hakimi plays left-back.
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4-4-2 Previous Line Ups
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| R. Patricio | |||
| Cedric | |||
| Pepe F. | |||
| J. Fonte | |||
| R. A. J. Guerreiro | |||
| Ber. Silva | |||
| J. Moutinho | |||
| W. Carvalho | |||
| J. Mario | |||
| An. Silva | |||
| C. Ronaldo |
4-2-3-1 Previous Line Ups
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Munir M. | |||
| N. Dirar | |||
| M. Benatia | |||
| R. Saiss | |||
| A. Hakimi | |||
| M. Boussoufa | |||
| K. Al Ahmadi | |||
| H. Ziyech | |||
| Y. Belhanda | |||
| A. Harit | |||
| A. El Kaabi |
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beto P. | |||
| A. Lopes | |||
| B. Alves | |||
| M. Rui | |||
| R. Dias | |||
| R. Pereira | |||
| G. Martins | |||
| R. Quaresma | |||
| M. Fernandes | |||
| Ad. Silva | |||
| B. Fernandes | |||
| G. Guedes |
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Y. Bounou | |||
| A. Reda Tagnaouti | |||
| H. Mendyl | |||
| Manuel D.C. | |||
| S. Amrabat | |||
| F. Fajr | |||
| M. Carcela | |||
| Y. Aït Bennasser | |||
| A. Bouhaddouz | |||
| K. Boutaib | |||
| Y. En-Nesyri |
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| R. Patricio | |||
| Cedric | |||
| Pepe F. | |||
| J. Fonte | |||
| R. A. J. Guerreiro | |||
| Ber. Silva | |||
| J. Moutinho | |||
| W. Carvalho | |||
| J. Mario | |||
| An. Silva | |||
| C. Ronaldo |
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beto P. | |||
| A. Lopes | |||
| B. Alves | |||
| M. Rui | |||
| R. Dias | |||
| R. Pereira | |||
| G. Martins | |||
| R. Quaresma | |||
| M. Fernandes | |||
| Ad. Silva | |||
| B. Fernandes | |||
| G. Guedes |
Morocco
Last updated: Wed 20 June 2018 08:45Morocco do not have any players suspended for this match. They have one injury concern, with Nordin Amrabat needing to pass a fitness test.
Morocco lost their opening match against Iran by a 1-0 scoreline, with substitute Aziz Bouhaddouz scoring an unfortunate own goal in stoppage time of a match that they'd dominated the possession battle.
That result ended Morocco's 18-match unbeaten run, following their impressive qualifying campaign.
There are no Morocco players suspended for this second match of the group stages against Portugal.
Morocco have a doubt over winger Nordin Amrabat, who suffered a concussion in the match against Iran and who had to be taken off. He has a chance of coming back in time for this one, but he'll have to pass a late fitness test.
Manuel Da Costa was a doubt as well, with the backup defender having suffered a thigh injury, but he has now recovered.
For this match, Nabil Dirar should be back from his calf injury. He is their starting right-back (even if he is naturally a winger) but missed the first game as he wasn't 100 percent fit.
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 and where natural right-back Achraf Hakimi plays left-back.
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| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Munir M. | |||
| N. Dirar | |||
| M. Benatia | |||
| R. Saiss | |||
| A. Hakimi | |||
| M. Boussoufa | |||
| K. Al Ahmadi | |||
| H. Ziyech | |||
| Y. Belhanda | |||
| A. Harit | |||
| A. El Kaabi |
| Player | Rat. | Pos. | No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Y. Bounou | |||
| A. Reda Tagnaouti | |||
| H. Mendyl | |||
| Manuel D.C. | |||
| S. Amrabat | |||
| F. Fajr | |||
| M. Carcela | |||
| Y. Aït Bennasser | |||
| A. Bouhaddouz | |||
| K. Boutaib | |||
| Y. En-Nesyri |