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Morocco squad guide, full fixtures, group and key players

Unbeaten during their qualifiers, can Morocco take their good form to Russia 2018?

Morocco are back on the FIFA World Cup stage for the first time in 20 years and looking to progress from the group stage for only the second time in their history.

They unbeaten during the CAF qualifying campaign and did not concede a goal across their six matches.

French coach Hervé Renard has been gradually building a team of solid defensive units hoping to cause some upset in Russia.

Captain: Medhi Benatia

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Manager: Herve Renard

Nickname: The Atlas Lions

FIFA World Cup history (5 appearances)

Fixtures

Morocco Vs Iran

Morocco Vs Portugal

Morocco Vs Spain

Key Men

1.  Medhi Benatia

Fiery Medhi Benatia will be Morocco’s key man at the 2018 World Cup fresh from helping Juventus to the Italian league-cup double.

Although he was never far from the headline albeit for controversial reasons, Benatia was very successful with Juventus last season.

He leads the Moroccan defence which has become the bedrock of the national team in recent times.

2. Hakim Ziyech

Ajax playmaker Ziyech will be one of the youngsters to watch out for at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Under Ranard, the former Netherlands youth player has become a vital part of the Moroccan team.

As a former Netherlands U21 player, Ziyech presents huge worry to Moroccans over their commitment to the national team.

Russia 2018 is the chance to play himself into the hearts of his countrymen.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Mounir El Kajoui (CD Numancia/ESP), Yassine Bounou (Girona/ESP), Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti (IRT/MAR)

Defenders: Medhi Benatia (Juventus/ITA), Romain Saiss (Wolverhampton/ENG), Manuel Da Costa (Basaksehir/TUR), Badr Benoun (RCA/MAR), Nabil Dirar (Fenerbahce/TUR), Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid/ESP), Hamza Mendyl (Lille/FRA)

Midfielders: M'barek Boussoufa (Al Jazira/UAE), Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord/ NED), Youssef Ait Bennasser (Caen/FRA), Sofyan Amrabat (Feyenoord/NED), Younes Belhanda (Galatasaray/TUR), Faycal Fajr (Getafe/ESP), Amine Harit (Schalke 04/ GER), Nordin Amrabat (Leganes/ESP)

Forwards: Khalid Boutaib (Malatyaspor/TUR), Aziz Bouhaddouz (Saint Pauli/GER), Ayoub El Kaabi (RSB/MAR), Mehdi Carcela (Standard Liege/BEL), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax Amsterdam/NED)

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