Prediction: Morocco vs Netherlands

Verdict: Away win

Best Odds: 13/10

Bookmaker: William Hill

Morocco take on Netherlands in their final warm-up game ahead of the group stage of Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, with the game taking place at Stade d’Agadir. Meanwhile, Oranje have a new coach in Dick Advocaat, but it is Fred Grim who will act as interim manager for the two friendlies.

Morocco

Morocco have had mixed success since one of Africa’s most successful coaches Herve Renard took over the reigns in February 2016, and the Frenchman has yet to justify the money invested in him. While the Atlas Lions qualified for the 2017 AFCON knockout stages, they were beaten by Egypt in the quarter-finals, and they also failed to impress at the start of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Morocco recorded a 2-1 aggregate win over Equatorial Guinea to secure a place in the group stages, but then played out goalless draws with Gabon and Ivory Coast. With Mali also in their group that will only see the winner book a ticket to Russia, it is clear the Atlas Lions face a very difficult task. It is important to note that Morocco failed to score a single goal in their last three World Cup qualifiers and that was probably one of the reasons why Herve Renard decided to call Ajax playmaker Hakim Ziyech after overlooking him for the 2017 AFCON squad. However, the attacking midfielder rejected the invitation, stating that he would not be playing for the Atlas Lions as long as Renard remains the boss.

Team News

High-profile footballers Nabil Dirar, M’Bark Boussoufa, Younes Belhanda, Sofiane Feghouli and Mehdi Carcela have made the list, but Mehdi Benatia, Manuel Da Costa and Youssef El-Arabi continue to miss out.

Netherlands

One of Europe’s most famous national teams have been on a major downtrend of late, with Daley Blind’s reign clearly a stain on Oranje’s proud history. The Ajax icon was given vote of confidence despite failing to take Netherlands to the Euro 2016 finals, but poor start to the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign eventually persuaded the bosses to show him the door. Many people were surprised to see Dick Advocaat appointed as his successor, but it is the experienced coach who now has the task to try and get team’s qualifying bid back on track. Midway through the campaign, Netherlands sit in fourth place in Group A, six points behind leaders France, with Sweden and Bulgaria also in front of them, and they are now set to face Morocco and Ivory Coast in international friendlies before the next qualifier against Luxembourg (9th June). There have been no major changes in the squad for games against Morocco, Ivory Coast and Luxembourg, although Jeffrey Bruma, Leroy Fer, Virgil van Dijk and Jordy Clasie all miss out.

Team News

Daryl Janmaat and Marco van Ginkel were forced to withdraw, while Nathan Ake, Jurgen Locadia and Sergio Padt are the three uncapped footballers on the roster.

Key Factors to Consider

• Away team won both meetings between Netherlands and Morocco
• Atlas Lions failed to score in last three WC qualifiers
• Sneijder and Robben have 218 caps and 61 international goals between them
• Netherlands squad contains 12 players with 5 caps or less
• Morocco playmaker Hakim Ziyech (9/5) rejected the call-up

Conclusion

Morocco have been blowing hot and cold under Herve Renard and with quite a few important players missing, we don’t think they will be able to match youthful Netherlands side. Oranje will be keen to impress new boss Dick Advocaat and we expect them to emerge victorious in Agadir.

Verdict: Away win

Best Odds: 13/10

Bookmaker: William Hill