Bisnis.com, JAKARTA – Morocco will face Spain in the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup at Education City Stadium on Tuesday (06/12/2022).

Morocco overthrew Belgium, second in the world rankings in the group stage, Spain is the favorite to win the round of 16 of the World Cup which will take place on Tuesday evening.

But the experience of the teams taking part in the group stage is certainly a warning that nothing is certain in tournament football.

Spain, who beat Costa Rica 7-0 in their opener, are second in Group E behind Japan.

As for Morocco, they reached the last 16 after winning Group F by finishing above runners-up Croatia and Belgium four years ago.

Inevitably, Belgium’s victories and the lessons learned from Japan, who beat 2010 world champions Spain in their last group stage game, made Morocco even more confident that they could beat anyone. who, including Spain.

Under Walid Reragui, Morocco beat Canada 2-1 to reach the round of 16 for the second time and the first since the 1986 World Cup.

FIFA uploaded a photo of Reragui, holding a halved avocado with the contents of a small soccer ball in his right hand, while his left index finger was placed on his forehead, as a message containing a challenge to those who had criticized him.

Canada’s goal against Morocco was the North African country’s first conceded in six games under Reragugui.

During the celebration of the victory over Canada, the Moroccan players gathered around Reragugi while taking turns stroking the coach’s head.

“They like to hit me on the head. Maybe it’s a sign of luck for them,” Reragugui told reporters.

Morocco like to pile up on the baseline waiting for their opponents to let their guard down to punish them with deadly counter-attacks that relied on the speed and skill of Hakim Ziyech who returned to the national team when Reragugui took charge after falling out with the former coach. Vahid Halilhodzic.

The Atlas Lions started this final with a goalless draw against Croatia before posting a convincing 2-0 victory against Belgium.

The victory over Belgium came even though the team were without goalkeeper Yassine Bounou who was unable to enter the pitch due to illness before kick-off.

In contrast, Spain drew 1-1 with Germany after defeating Costa Rica. After being beaten by Japan, coach Luis Enrique cursed his team.

“I didn’t like it at all. Yes, we qualified, I wanted to win this game. So it’s impossible because in five minutes Japan had already scored two goals… we were eliminated, we were stripped,” Enrique said. reported by Reuters.

The Tiki-Taka style of play Enrique adopted relied on a Barcelona midfield trio of Sergio Busquets, Pedri and Gavi.

During the first half of the match against Costa Rica, the Spanish team managed to spread 537 passes, which is the most baited record in the history of the World Cup.

But football isn’t just about passing and having the ball, as Spain will also need to be savvy in managing the chances to stay on course for a second world title.

Prediction of the composition of Morocco against Spain

Morocco (4-3-3): bonuses; Achraf Hakimi, Romain Saiss, Nayef Aguerd, Noussair Mazraoui; Azzedine Ounahi, Sofyan Amrabat, Abdelhamid Sahiri; Hakim Ziyech, Youssef En-Nesyri, Sofiane Boufal

Spain (4-3-3): Unai Simon; Dani Carvajal, Rodri, Aymeric Laporte, Jordi Alba; Pedri, Sergio Busquets, Gavi; Ferran Torres, Alvaro Morata, Dani Olmo

Scenario of the match Morocco vs Spain

Morocco will take advantage of every square centimeter of defense they have always guarded with virtue, to secure their first ticket to the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

On the other hand, the attackers of Walid Reragui’s team will be confident to hammer the stronghold of La Roja by targeting their weaknesses successfully exploited by the Japanese a few days ago.

But be careful because the team they face this time around has never known the term break when pressing and attacking their opponents.

Spain are clearly a force to be reckoned with in the final third.

They’re also blessed with players who are all hungry for goals, whether they’re base or no-base, starters or reserves.

All of them are identical, capable of penetrating the opponent’s goal, even if it is tightly closed by the guards of the line of defense.

It takes a skilled goalkeeper to deal with the terror of the Spanish attackers. But fortunately Morocco was able to bring back its number one goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou.

When he overthrew Belgium, Bounou was suddenly stripped of his team because he wasn’t feeling well. He is now ready to play the full 90 minutes.

Still, veteran defender Achraf Hakimi provided a charming assist for Youssef En-Nesyri’s goal.

The Paris Saint Germain right-back should be fit in time to protect Bounou from the right flank in attack alongside centre-back duo Romain Saiss and Nayef Aguerd and left-back Noussair Mazraoui in a 4-3 formation. 3.

Hakim Ziyech and Sofiane Boufal will appear in fresher physical condition thanks to sufficient rest to be able to link up with Youssef En-Nesyri as the trident that disrupts the Spanish backline backed by the quartet Dani Carvajal, Rodri, Aymeric Laporte, Jordi Alba, also in a 4-3-3 formation.

They will be supported by three midfielders who are all Bacelona midfielders, namely Pedri, Sergio Busquets and Gavi.

These three midfielders form the basis of La Roja’s attack, which centers on the killer trio of Ferran Torres, Alvaro Morata and Dani Olmo that has made Spain one of the two most productive sides in the league. 2022 World Cup, excluding England.

Luis Enrique is indeed not afraid to line up the duo Nico Williams and Alejandro Balde who played brilliantly against Japan, but Ferran Torres and Jordi Alba will be his favorite choices.

Results of the confrontations between Morocco and Spain:

Morocco vs Spain Facts:

This is the fourth meeting between the two countries since 1961 and the second in a World Cup tournament. Spain have won twice, but the third encounter of the 2018 World Cup in Russia ended in a 2-2 draw.

Morocco are unbeaten in six matches under coach Walid Reragui who has coached them since September. Morocco conceded only one goal against Canada in their last game.

Morocco reached the round of 16 for the second time since 1986. It was the first time that an Arab coach had guided a team to the round of 16.

Luis Enrique has been coaching Spain since July 2018 after being knocked out of the World Cup in Russia, but resigned in June 2019 for personal reasons. He coached the national team again four months later.

Luis Enrique led Spain to the Euro 2020 semi-finals last year and then to the European Nations League final only to lose to France.

Morocco and Spain team:

Spanish

Goalkeepers: Unai Simon (Athletic Club), Robert Sanchez (Brighton & Hove Albion), David Raya (Brentford FC)

Defenders: Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea FC), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Eric Garcia (FC Barcelona), Hugo Guillamon (Valencia CF), Pau Torres (Villarreal CF), Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City), Jordi Alba (FC Barcelona) , Jose Gaya (Valencia CF).

Midfielders: Sergio Busquets (FC Barcelona), Rodri Hernandez (Manchester City), Gavi (FC Barcelona), Carlos Soler (Paris St Germain), Marcos Llorente (Atlético de Madrid), Pedri Gonzalez (FC Barcelona), Koke Resurreccion ( Atlético de Madrid).

Forwards: Ferran Torres (FC Barcelona), Nico Williams (Athletic Club), Yeremi Pino (Villarreal CF), Alvaro Morata (Atlético de Madrid), Marco Asensio (Real Madrid), Pablo Sarabia (Paris St Germain), Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig), Ansu Fati (FC Barcelona).

Morocco

Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Sevilla), Munir El Kajoui (Al Wehda), Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti (Wydad Casablanca).

Defenders: Nayef Aguerd (West Ham United), Yahia Attiat Allah (Wydad Casablanca), Badr Benoun (Qatar SC), Achraf Dari (Stade Brest), Jawad El Yamiq (Real Valladolid), Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain), Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern Munich), Romain Saiss (Besiktas).

Midfielders: Sofyan Amrabat (Fiorentina), Selim Amallah (Standard Liège), Bilal El Khannouss (Racing Genk), Yahya Jabrane (Wydad Casablanca), Azzedine Ounahi (Angers), Abdelhamid Sabiri (Sampdoria).

Forwards: Zakaria Aboukhlal (Toulouse), Boufal (Angers), Ilias Chair (Queens Park Rangers), Walid Cheddira (Bari), Youssef En-Nesyri (Sevilla), Abde Ezzalzouli (Osasuna), Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al Ittihad), Amine Harit (Olympique de Marseille), Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea).

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