Moroccovs.Angola

Both sides participated at the just-concluded Africa Cup of Nations, with Walid Regragui's team underperforming while the Palancas Negras made it to the quarter-finals.

Match preview

The Morocco squad are gathered for the first time since their 2-0 defeat by South Africa at AFCON 2023, a last-16 exit that saddened fans of the nation expecting continental triumph.

With the Atlas Lions to host the finals in 2025, preparations are already in motion to go into next year's competition at their best, keen to erase the disappointment of their underwhelming showing in Cote d'Ivoire.

However, seeing as Regragui's men qualify automatically, progress to the 2026 World Cup is probably the short-term target for a nation that made history at the last finals in Qatar, making it to the semi-finals for the first time in African football history.

With qualifying to resume in June — Morocco face Zambia and Congo — this international window presents Regragui the opportunity to assess his squad weeks after their Cup of Nations failure.

The Atlas Lions are unbeaten in exhibition games since a 3-0 loss to the USMNT in June 2022, a near-two-year run they hope to continue on Friday.

Angola seek to be spoilsports in the game, keen to build on a strong Cup of Nations showing that saw the Palancas Negras win a knockout match at the finals for the first time in its expanded format.

Pedro Goncalves' men are a menacing team in their attacking transitions, and it should make for an interesting tactical battle to see how Regragui's men contain the southern African nation.

Angola's tendency to play out draws — they won more games at AFCON (three) than they managed from the previous 12 games (two) — even though they played out ties in none of those fixtures.

Playing out five goalless encounters point to the team's goalscoring issues, surprisingly not hindering them at the Cup of Nations, where the Palancas Negras netted in every game except their last-eight exit to Nigeria.

Having scored two goals or more in three matches (three in a 3-2 win over Mauritania, two in a 2-0 success over Burkina Faso and three in a 3-0 win against Namibia, Goncalves hopes his team's goals have not dried up before facing the North African nation.

Morocco friendly form:

Morocco form (all competitions):

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W

W

D

W

L

Angola friendly form:

Angola form (all competitions):

W

D

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L

Team News

Real Madrid's Brahim Diaz opting to represent Morocco instead of Spain is a big win for the Atlas Lions, and the attacking midfielder should make his debut on Friday.

The usual suspects are in the squad, with Yassine Bounou expected to start in goal, Nayef Aguerd and Achraf Hakimi to star in the defence, Sofyan Amrabat and Azzedine Ounahi to be present in the middle of the park and Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Nesyri to dominate in the attacking third.

However, Romain Saiss and Sofiane Boufal are notable absentees from the squad.

Mabululu and Gilberto were threats in transition for Angola at AFCON, the former scoring three times and the latter menacing with his ball-carrying ability, and they have what it takes to hurt Morocco.

Gelson Dala and Fredy reportedly asked to be omitted from the squad, leaving the Angolans without two pivotal players at the Cup of Nations, especially as Zito Luvumbo is missing because of a thigh injury.

Morocco possible starting lineup:

Bounou; Hakimi, Dari, Aguerd, Allah; Diaz, Amrabat, Ounahi; Ziyech, En-Nesyri, Adli

Angola possible starting lineup:

Neblu; Afonso, Gaspar, Buatu, Carneiro; Estrela, Show, Maestro; Gilberto, Mabululu, Bela

We say: Morocco 2-0 Angola

Shorn of two of their top-performing attackers at the Cup of Nations, Angola face a seemingly uphill task in Morocco without pivotal attackers offering the decisive execution to punish the Atlas Lions.

Regragui's team should win this and continue their unbeaten run in non-competitive games.

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