WORLD CUP
Morocco 2-1 Slovakia: World Cup 2018 friendly match, Live!
A comeback win for Morocco won't hurt their confidence as Belhanda and El Kaabi score to overcome Gregus' second half opener.
Morocco 2-1 Slovakia: report
Morocco dominated almost every aspect of the game in Stade de Genève on Monday night but found themselves behind in the second half thanks to a Gregus piledrover from outside the box.
The side managed by Harvé Renard won the possession battle early on and had a number of chances with Leganés' Nordin Amrabat impressing in particular in the opening half. they failed to score but it looked like it was only a matter of time.
That was before Gregus nailed a shot into the bottom corner leaving Girona's Bono sprawling across his goal line in an effort to stop it. After that goal, it was straight back on the attack for Morocco.
Their patience paid dividends when Belhanda headed a corner home thanks to some slack defending. Shortly after that, substitue El Kaabi drove a low shot into the bottom corner to complete the comeback.
Morocco play one more friendly against Estonia before their World Cup opener against Iran on June 15. They were the better side by far on Monday night in Switzerland but will have to prevent goals on the counter during their time in Russia this summer.
Morocco vs Slovakia live: as it happened
Morocco vs Slovakia live: preview
The pre-World Cup friendlies continue with Morocco and Slovakia playing on Monday June 4 in Switzerland with kick-off at 20:00 CEST.
Morocco have their work cut out for them in Russia this summer with Spain and Portugal in their group for the World Cup along with Iran. Slovakia did not qualify for the tournament despite finishing as runners-up to eventual Group F winners England.
Coached by Hervé Renard, they have plenty of experience in their side with a mixture of youth. They don't have the strongest squad in terms of quality in depth but have important players in every line of the field including Mehdi Benatia and Achraf Hakimi of Juventus and Real Madrid along with Hakim Ziyech, who won the Dutch footballer of the year award this season, and Youssef En Nesyri, who impressed for Malaga despite their relegation from LaLiga.
Morocco's World Cup squad:
Goalkeepers: Mounir Mohamedi (Numancia), Yassine Bounou (Girona), Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti (Ittihad Tanger)
Defenders: Mehdi Benatia (Juventus), Romain Saiss (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Manuel Da Costa (Basaksehir), Nabil Dirar (Fenerbahce), Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid), Hamza Mendyl (Lille)
Midfielders: Mbark Boussoufa (Al Jazira), Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord), Youssef Ait Bennasser (Caen), Sofyan Amrabat (Feyenoord), Younes Belhanda (Galatasaray), Faycal Fajr (Getafe), Amine Harit (Schalke)
Forwards: Khalid Boutaib (Malatyaspor), Aziz Bouhaddouz (St. Pauli), Ayoub El Kaabi (Renaissance Berkane), Nordin Amrabat (Leganes), Mehdi Carcela (Standard Liege), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax), Youssef En Nesyri (Malaga)