LAHORE: The 18th match of the FIFA World Cup will kick off at 5:00 pm at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia.
Morocco:
Morocco go into this match as the clear underdogs and will be hoping to deny Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portuguese compatriots any and all goalscoring chances as they hope to redeem themselves after losing to Iran in their opening match after a horrible own goal from Moroccan defender Aziz Bouhaddoz in the dying moments of the match.
Mehdi Benatia, the most notable name on the team sheet, having starred in the squads of teams like Juventus and Bayern Munich will most likely captain the Moroccan team.
However, the Moroccan squad also includes names such as Hakim Ziyech from Ajax and young Real Madrid prospect Achraf Hakimi.
Watford defender Nordin Amrabat will possibly be replaced by Fenerbanche full-back Nabil Dirar after suffering a concussion in the last game against Iran.
Morocco Expected Line up: El kajoui, Dirar, Saiss, Benatia, Achraf, El Ahmadi, Belhanda, Harita, Boussoufa, Ziyech, El Kaabi
Portugal:
The Portuguese team will be in high spirits as they go into this match as favourites to win it.
They boast an impressive lineup with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Goncalo Guedes upfront as well as veteran defender and former Real Madrid player Pepe who will play next to Southampton defender Jose Fonte as the pair of centre-backs in the game. While offensive players usually steal the spotlight for Portugal, they also have exceptional players in midfield such as Joao Moutinho and William Carvalho, not to forget they also have an experienced goalkeeper, Rui Patricio, who was also part of the Portuguese squad that won the European Championship in 2016.
Portugal Expected Lineup: Patricio, Cedric, Pepe, Fonte, Guerreiro, Bernardo, Moutinho, Carvalho, Fernandes, Guedes, Ronaldo
Battle of the Captains:
Both Ronaldo and Benatia are the star players of their teams, both very experienced as well as skilled. Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the best player in the world at the moment is in blistering form after scoring a hattrick to save his team from suffering a loss in their world cup opener against a formidable Spain team that showed fluidity and cohesion in attacking. Ronaldo’s goal scoring record was rather modest before Portugal’s world cup opener, however the Real Madrid forward greatly impressed and saved his team.
Mehdi Benatia will try to keep Ronaldo’s interaction with the ball to the minimum in the hopes of keeping him from scoring.
Can Morocco cope under the pressure?
After a loss to Iran in their World Cup opener, Morocco will surely be feeling the pressure to win this game since a loss here might end their chances of progressing to the round of 16 given that they face Spain after Portugal.
Can Portugal replicate their form from Friday Night against Morocco?
Portugal did well to secure a draw against a team that are dubbed as the favourites to win the world cup. However, the Portugal team lacks consistency in winning their games as we have seen in the confederations cup last year and this unpredictability may just end up in defeat.
Fernando Santos will be hoping that his star forward, Cristiano Ronaldo will rise to the occasion again and secure a win for Portugal.
Predictions: Portugal 3-1
Unlike the Portuguese, Morocco have comparatively less experience in international competitions, which puts them at a disadvantage. Cristiano Ronaldo is in amazing form and will be hoping to reproduce his brilliance against Spain in the match against Morocco. However, the Portuguese side lacked good defensive capabilities as we saw Diego Costa put two past Rui Patricio. Unless they improve their defending in this match it is very likely that the Moroccans will find the net.
