Morocco secured a narrow but deserved win over Scotland, and are as good as through to the knockout rounds. Minnows Haiti await next in Round 3.

Steve Clarke’s side, however, face the possibility of having to get something from their final group match against Brazil.

Here are our Scout Notes from the game, featuring match stats from our World Cup Toolkit page.

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MOROCCO 1-0 SCOTLAND

• Goals: Saibari
• Assists: Diaz
• Tackle bonus: Ferguson x2, El Aynaoui
• Top points scorers: Saibari (11), Bounou, Riad, Mazraoui (all 9), Diop, Diaz (both 8), Hakimi (7)

TEAM STATS

PLAYER STATS

SCOUT NOTES

• Morocco, as they had been against Brazil, were vastly the superior side in the first half. Scotland barely got a kick, and there was a stark difference between the Atlas Lions’ composed play and their opposition’s ‘punt and hope’ approach. Morocco were ahead within two minutes, with Ismael Saibari ($6.8m) latching onto Brahim Diaz’s ($6.4m) pass to finish well. Achraf Hakimi ($6.0m) almost prodded the North Africans into a 2-0 lead, while Bilal El Khannous ($6.2m) blazed over a great chance, too.
• That said, Mohamed Ouahbi’s side probably didn’t carve out as many gilt-edged chances as their dominance warranted, and the slender 1-0 advantage led to a nervier conclusion. As was the case against Brazil, the shot count dried up significantly as the game wore on; there was nothing from the Moroccans in the last 30 minutes of normal time.
• The ‘out of position’ midfielder Saibari was again the danger man. It wasn’t just his goal; he was the one frequently in threatening positions close to goal. In the first half, he couldn’t sort his feet out to tap the ball in, while an assist went up in smoke when El Khannous fired wildly over. After the interval, a deflected effort hit the bar, and he was left fuming when Diaz opted to take the ball on rather than square it to him with the goal gaping.
• While Hakimi is yet to deliver an attacking return, his tally of five shots and four chances created after two games is a testament to his offensive qualities. He’s tempting for Round 3 against Haiti, although he doesn’t qualify for Scouting Bonus – unlike the rest of Morocco’s backline. News broke earlier in the day about his upcoming trial in France, but he retains his national team manager’s backing:

“He was fine. I don’t see why we need to talk about management or anything else. He was fine. He woke up in the morning. He ate like everyone else. He prepared. He motivated everyone. He was in the locker room. He was focused. He wanted to play a great game. He played a great game. So, honestly, we have nothing to say. We have nothing to say. We’re simply behind him.” – Mohamed Ouahbi on Achraf Hakimi, via Futbol Fantasy

• Morocco are as good as through now, and a point against eliminated Haiti will confirm the inevitable. So, after naming an unchanged XI so far, what chance of Ouahbi rotating in Round 3?

“It’s not a question of rotating players. We’re not qualified yet. The objective is to win the next match to qualify and, if possible, finish first. So, I’ll field the best possible team depending on the context, the opponent, the players’ fitness, and many other factors. But whatever happens, I’ll field the best team. If I decide to play another player, it’s not because I want to do that player a favour. I genuinely want to field the best team, and it will be the one that is most prepared and capable of delivering the victory we’re looking for against Haiti.” – Mohamed Ouahbi, via Futbol Fantasy

• As for Scotland, a point against Brazil will very likely send them through as one of the best third-place teams. It’s a tall order, of course, but credit to them for hanging on during a dominant first half for Morocco and showing a bit more attacking ambition in the closing stages. We can likely expect a similar caution-first-nick-a-goal-later approach against Brazil:

“If you chase a goal against a team like Morocco, their counter-attack is incredibly fast. If you make the game too open, you can even see it towards the end of the match, when we’re pushing for the equaliser, that the game stretches out. Morocco has very fast players. At the beginning of the match, after conceding the first goal after 70-something seconds, it was crucial not to concede a second.” – Steve Clarke, via Futbol Fantasy

• Clarke went with a conservative line-up, opting for five defenders and four central midfielders. However, one of each – Kieran Tierney ($4.3m) and John McGinn ($6.0m) – operated out wide in a 4-5-1/4-4-1-1. Scotland looked more threatening with substitute Ben Gannon-Doak ($4.9m) on the field, and his trickery out wide caused Morocco problems.
• Scott McTominay ($6.5m) unsurprisingly looked the likeliest source of a goal. He teed up a good chance for Ryan Christie ($5.6m), saw two shots blocked, and had a decent shout for a penalty turned down.