By Mark Gleeson
ATLANTA, June 22 (Reuters) – Morocco will be chasing not only victory but also goals against already-eliminated Haiti in Atlanta on Wednesday, eager to finish top of their World Cup group ahead of Brazil.
It would be a statement success for the North Africans, who have four points from their opening two Group C games and made an immediate impression when they had Brazil on the back foot in their drawn first match at the tournament in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Morocco, who then beat Scotland in Boston on Friday, have picked up where they left off from the last World Cup in Qatar, where they became the first African and Arab country to reach the semi-finals.
Brazil will be playing Scotland at the same time in Miami, and if both the five-time world champions and Morocco win their last group games, then top place in Group C will be decided on goal difference.
A 3-0 win for the Brazilians against Haiti in Philadelphia on Friday gives them a better goal difference than Morocco, whose coach Mohamed Ouahbi said the Caribbean team would pose a difficult challenge despite their early exit.
“That’s the beauty of the World Cup, all the different styles of teams you go up against and have to deal with,” he said.
But if they want to usurp Brazil and take top place, Morocco will have to be on the all-out attack.
The Group C winner takes on the runners-up in Group F, and the second-place finisher in Group C is up against the top side in Group F, where the Netherlands, Japan, and Sweden are all in the running.
A meeting with the Netherlands would have added resonance for the Moroccans, who have a large immigrant community in the country and three Dutch-born players in their squad.
Haiti were the first team eliminated from the expanded 48-team tournament after losing to Scotland and then Brazil but promised there would be no drop in intensity from their team.
After more than a half-century since they last participated in the World Cup in 1974, coach Sebastien Migne said it would be unthinkable to treat their final outing as a meaningless fixture.
“Do we have the right to neglect a match? Obviously not,” Migne said.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Atlanta; Editing by Alison Williams)
Comments