Our prediction for this Africa Cup of Nations 2024 match:
There will be fireworks when Morocco and Ghana face each other at Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in the Group C derby. Morocco head coach Vahid Halilhodzic has left Chelsea ace Hakim Ziyech out of the 2021 AFCON squad, and, in his absence, men to watch in the home team will be Youssef En-Nesyri of Sevilla and PSG wing back Achraf Hakimi. Keep in mind, though, that En-Nesyri has been struggling with injury of late.
The Black Stars, on the other hand, qualified for the 2022 World Cup thanks to a hard-fought 1-0 win over South Africa. Since the Ghanaians are likely to adopt a defence-minded approach in the Group C opener, we are tempted to put our money on under 2.5 goals. Felix Afena Gyan (Roma) and Salis Abdul (Clermont) have been left out of the Ghana AFCON squad. As always, all eyes will be on Ayew brothers, speaking of the nominal visitors.
Highlighted Player (Achraf Lazaar):
Achraf Lazaar was born in Casablanca, Morocco on January 22, 1992, but he moved to Italy with his parents in 2003. The left-footed footballer began his youth career at Raja Casablanca and he joined Varese’s youth academy in 2009.
Lazaar made his debut for the senior team in 2012. He made 37 league appearances for Varese, but he did not find the net during his spell at the Stadio Franco Ossola outfit. In January 2014 he signed a contract with Palermo and he has been playing for the Sicilian outfit ever since.Lazaar plays as a left back, but he is capable of producing fine displays as a left back as well. Seeing that he was unable to play for Italy, the Palermo footballer decided to represent Morocco on the international stage. He made his Morocco debut on 23 may, 2014 in a friendly against Mozambique. Morocco recorded a routine 4-0 win over Mozambique back then. Achraf Lazaar has a contract with Palermo which expires on 30 June, 2017.
Highlighted Team (Ghana):
Ghana are an African football team administered by Ghana Football Association. The Black Stars made their first ever appearances at the World Cup finals in 2006 and they were grouped with the likes of Italy, Czech Republic and United States. Ghana booked their place in the last 16, but they were outclassed by Brazil in the knockout stages of the showpiece tournament.
In 2010 the Ghanaians did remarkably well to make it to the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup and it has to be noted that they were more than unfortunate not to eliminate Uruguay in the knockout stages of the tournament in South Africa.
The likes of Asamoah Gyan, Richard Kingson, John Paintsil, Emmanuel Agymang-Badu, Sulley Muntari, John Mensah, Andre Ayew, Kwadwo Asamoah, Harrison Afful and Abedi Pele are Ghana’s most capped players, but, no doubt, Michael Essien is the most famous footballer who played for the Black Stars. The Ghanaians play their home games in white shirts, while the colour of the team’s away kit is red.