Former Morocco assistant coach Patrice Beaumelle believes that the Atlas Lions’ opening World Cup showing against Brazil in New York on Saturday highlighted everything that makes the North Africans such a tantalising prospect and a potential dark horse at this summer’s tournament.
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Morocco continue their Group C campaign against Scotland in Boston on Friday, with Beaumelle, who served as the team’s assistant coach between 2016 and 2019 before then overseeing their Olympic (U-23 team), hoping that Mohamed Ouahbi’s team can deliver another football masterclass following their opening 1-1 draw with Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil.
“I would say that the African Brazilians gave the Brazilians from Brazil a football, lesson, and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of their play, their speed and the maturity of this team, which includes so many young players,” Beaumelle told ESPN.
“I would say that the African Brazilians gave the Brazilians from Brazil a football, lesson, and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of their play, their speed and the maturity of this team, which includes so many young players,” Beaumelle told ESPN.
“I was surprised by their quality against Brazil, they had the hand throughout the match, and apart from Vinicus Jr.’s individual brilliance, I would say Morocco were superior.
“[They were better] in possession, in direct play, in pressing, in athletic challenges, in duels, and even in their enjoyment of the game.”
Vinicius Junior equalised for the Selecao in the 32nd minute after Ismael Saibari had given the North Africans the lead 11 minutes earlier, although Ouahbi’s side arguably should have taken more from the match after enjoying the better of the first-half exchanges before the intensity dipped for both teams after the break.
The revelation of the match, and one of the breakout stars of the tournament so far, was 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi, who ran the midfield for the Atlas Lions despite only making his first competitive start for the national side.
“Honestly, he was man of the match,’ Beaumelle said of Bouaddi’s showing. “He controlled the midfield, and in general, I found Morocco to be a team with many talented individuals, all working for the collective.
“It was the Morocco team as a whole that really impressed me.”
The Atlas Lions face Scotland in Boston on Friday as they look to take a further step towards the knockout stages, before concluding their Group C campaign against Haiti in Atlanta on June 24.
After leaving the North Africans in 2020, Beaumelle was appointed Ivory Coast head coach, overseeing the early international careers of several members of the current Elephants squad.
After their opening 1-0 victory over Ecuador, the West Africans are well placed to reach the knockout stages for the first time in their history, with matches against Germany and debutants Curacao still to come over the next week.
“They deserved their victory, although Ecuador weren’t too bad, they had several shots, including two that hit the crossbar, and they certainly should have scored,” the French coach noted. “Ivory Coast were attractive to watch and they’re still improving as they continue their development.
“Out of the current squad of 26, 13 were already with me, and many others were players I was monitoring, so I feel a great deal of pride in seeing there’s still continuity with what we started building.
“Coach Emerse Fae is helping this team progress, while certain players such as [Guelor] Doue, who joined later, have brought dynamism and quality.”
The Elephants face Germany in Toronto on Saturday in their second Group E game, and they could already have secured their progression to the Last 32 by the time they face Curacao in Philadelphia on June 25.
