Morocco and Iran have received the dubious honor of being featured in a World Cup group that features 2010 winners Spain and 2016 European Champions Portugal. Naturally, neither side has been given much of a chance.
But Friday morning from Krestovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg, Russia presents an opportunity for either of the long shots to start their tournament with three points to at least take an early group lead should the European giants battle to what is expected to be a hotly contested draw.
This might not be the most clinical soccer one will find at this tournament given the teams’ respective rankings (Iran 37th, Morocco 41st), but there is some top-tier quality within either side.
Morocco’s captain is the Juventus (Italy) center back Medhi Benatia, who has been linked to a possible move to Arsenal (England) this summer. He anchors his country’s strongest asset, the back line, alongside Achraf Hakimi of Real Madrid (Spain). Morocco also has a midfielder in Romain Saiss that helped Wolverhampton Wanderers attain promotion to the Premier League in England.
This is Morocco’s fifth World Cup appearance, its first since 1998.
Iran’s most dangerous man is the striker Sardar Azmoun, currently applying his trade with Rubin Kazan in the country hosting this year’s World Cup. He’s been Iran’s main source of offense, recording 23 goals in 33 international appearances.
This is also Iran’s fifth World Cup appearance, though it has never gotten out of the group stage. In fact, Iran has only won one of its 12 matches at the World Cup, a 2-1 win over the United States in 1998.
These two countries have never faced each other in the World Cup and have only faced off once before.
Here is how you can catch the match:
Morocco v. Iran 2018 World Cup viewing information
Date: Friday, Jun. 15
Time: 11 AM ET
TV: FOX
Live Stream: fuboTV, Fox Sports Go
