The Moroccan football team drew (1-1) against its Norwegian counterpart in a friendly match played Sunday at the Sports Illustrated Stadium in New Jersey.
For this match against Norway, which fielded all of its senior players, national coach Mohamed Ouahbi opted for a central hinge composed of Diop and Raid, with Hakimi on the right side and Mazraoui on the left flank. The Mancunian was, however, replaced in the 29th minute by Belamri due to a physical problem.
In midfield, Bouaddi played alongside El Aynaoui and Ounahi. In attack, Saibari occupied the role of false nine, supported by Diaz and Ezzalzouli.
The Atlas Lions started the match perfectly, leaving Norway no chance to enter the match.
Brahim Diaz first infiltrated the area, but his low cross was returned by the Norwegian defense. The tone is set.
Following a poor Norwegian recovery, Diaz recovered the ball in the middle. Ezzalzouli found himself in an ideal position in the area, but the Betis Sevilla winger procrastinated too much to finish.
Subsequently, Ezzalzouli tried his luck once again before breaking through on the right side to serve Diaz. At the end of this offensive, the Moroccan attacking midfielder opened the scoring with a shot placed in the area in the 7th minute of play.
Stunned by this start to the match, the Norwegians then came to their senses and tried to react. They managed to get close to Yassine Bounou’s goal, without, however, being really dangerous.
In the 16th minute, well launched from deep, Brahim Diaz attempted a lob, but his attempt lacked power and the Norwegian goalkeeper easily grabbed the ball.
Shortly after the half-hour mark, Haaland, served at the far post, placed a header which rebounded on the shoulder of Issa Diop. The Norwegian striker called for a penalty, but the referee did not flinch.
A few minutes later, Hakimi attempted a long shot. Nyland released the ball clumsily, but the Norwegian defense eventually cleared it for a corner.
Mohamed Ouahbi’s protégés then continued to prove dangerous in sequences, thanks to their technical quality and their speed of execution, putting in difficulty a Norwegian team lacking solutions. The first half ended with a score of 1-0.
At the start of the second half, Schjelderup, who came on in place of Nusa, infiltrated the area and forced Yassine Bounou to make a superb save to preserve Morocco’s advantage.
Three minutes later, Diaz made a nice move at the edge of the area before unleashing a powerful shot from the right, which was barely repelled by Nyland. El Aynaoui followed well, without managing to conclude with his head.
While the intensity dropped a notch, the two coaches made several changes. On the Moroccan side, El Khannouss, El Kaabi, El Mourabet, El Ouahdi, Amaimouni, Halhal and Saadane replaced Riad, Diop, Hakimi, Ounahi, El Aynaoui, Brahim Diaz and Saibari.
With these many changes, the pace of the meeting has decreased. The Atlas Lions finally conceded the equalizer. Entering the game obb served behind Ødegaard in the area, and the Norwegian captain equalized with a flat foot in the 75th minute.
This is the last friendly meeting of the Atlas Lions before their entry into the World Cup against Brazil on June 13.
In addition to Brazil, Morocco will play in Group C alongside Scotland and Haiti.
