|
|
Played
August 1, 2012 5:00 PM BST
Old Trafford — Manchester
Referee: B. Williams
Attendance: 35973
August 1, 2012 5:00 PM BST
Old Trafford — Manchester
Referee: B. Williams
Attendance: 35973
Spain - Morocco Preview: La Roja look to end Olympic football tournament on a high
Having suffered defeat in their first two games, the European champions will be hoping to conclude with a victory, while their African opponents could still qualify
By Chris Teale
Getty Images
| PROBABLE LINEUPS |
|
SPAIN
 De Gea Montoya, Botia, Dominguez, Alba Romeu, Martinez, Herrera Tello, Muniain, Adrian |
MOROCCO
 Amsif Aberhoun, El Kaoutari, Jebbour Noussir, Labayd, Fettouhi, Abdel, Kharja Amrabat, Bidaoui |
With their tournament over, Spain coach Luis Milla may make a few changes to his starting side after their disappointing defeat to Honduras. Iker Munian has recovered from injury and will most likely get minutes, with Adrian and Cristian Tello supporting in a new-look front three.
Morocco are also relying on Japan to beat Honduras alongwith condeming Spain to their third defeat on the trot to progress to the quarter-finals - so Per Verbeek is likely to select thestrongest possible side at his disposal.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
In their second game of this Olympic football tournament Spain had 67 per cent of the possession, but still lost 1-0 to Honduras.
- The Spanish have three players from the squad that won Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine: Juan Mata, Jordi Alba and Javi Martinez.
- When Spain last entered the Olympics in Sydney in 2000 they were in the same group as Morocco, and beat the Africans 2-0 thanks to goals from Jose Mari and Gabri before winning the gold medal.
- In their two meetings in senior international football, Spain have never lost to Morocco - scoring four goals in two games.
- Morocco are managed by Dutchman Pim Verbeek (pictured right), who has previously managed the South Korea and Australia national teams, taking the Socceroos to the 2012 World Cup.
- Striker Nordin Amrabat was initially capped by the Dutch national youth teams, and was even called into the senior squad on one occasion, before deciding in November 2011 to play for Morocco.
- Morocco will have half an eye on the other group game between Honduras and Japan, needing a victory and a Honduran defeat with a two-goal swing to progress.
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets |
|
| Sign up today with Coral and get a £50 FREE bet - no strings attached! |
|
| Sign up today with BetVictor and get a £25 FREE BET! |
|
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
-
Spain U-23 0-8 Morocco U-23
- 30.78 %
-
Spain U-23 0-1 Morocco U-23
- 11.77 %
-
Spain U-23 2-0 Morocco U-23
- 7.75 %
| Olympic Games (OLY) | Aug 1, 2012 | Spain U-23 0 - Morocco U-23 0 |
|
Spain U-23
   |
||
| Aug 1, 2012 | Spain U-23 0 - Morocco U-23 0 | OLY |
| Jul 29, 2012 | Spain U-23 0 - Honduras U-23 1 | OLY |
| Jul 26, 2012 | Spain U-23 0 - Japan U-23 1 | OLY |
Morocco U-23
  |
||
| Aug 1, 2012 | Spain U-23 0 - Morocco U-23 0 | OLY |
| Jul 29, 2012 | Japan U-23 1 - Morocco U-23 0 | OLY |
| Jul 26, 2012 | Honduras U-23 2 - Morocco U-23 2 | OLY |
| Dec 10, 2011 | Gabon U-23 2 - Morocco U-23 1 | OCaf |
| Dec 7, 2011 | Egypt U-23 2 - Morocco U-23 3 | OCaf |
| - | David de Gea | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | César Azpilicueta | Defender |
| 6 | Íñigo Martínez | Defender |
| 18 | Jordi Alba | Defender |
| 13 | Botía | Defender |
| - | Javi Martínez | Midfielder |
| 4 | Oriol Romeu | Midfielder |
| 10 | Isco | Midfielder |
| 7 | Adrián | Striker |
| 7 | Muniain | Striker |
| 13 | Juan Mata | Striker |
| 1 | Diego Mariño | Goalkeeper |
| 3 | Álvaro Domínguez | Defender |
| - | Montoya | Defender |
| 8 | Koke | Midfielder |
| 17 | Ander Herrera | Midfielder |
| 9 | Rodrigo | Striker |
| - | Tello | Striker |
| - | Mohamed Amsif | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Abdellatif Noussir | Midfielder |
| - | Mohamed Aberhoun | Defender |
| - | Zou | Defender |
| - | Yassine Jebbour | Defender |
| - | Zakaria Labyad | Midfielder |
| - | Driss Fettouhi | Midfielder |
| 10 | Abdel | Midfielder |
| 14 | Houssine Kharja | Midfielder |
| 21 | Nordin Amrabat | Striker |
| - | Soufiane Bidaoui | Striker |
| - | Yassine Bounou | Goalkeeper |
| - | Abdelhamid El Kaoutari | Defender |
| 5 | Zakarya Bergdich | Defender |
| 6 | Imad Najah | Defender |
| 12 | Omar El Kaddouri | Midfielder |
| - | Rayan Frikeche | Midfielder |
| 17 | Soufian El Hassnaoui | Striker |
Results
Times In BST
Live
Final
scheduled
Suspended
Cancelled
Postponed
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Leandro Damião Striker Internacional |
6 | 0 |
|
Moussa Konaté Striker Krasnodar |
5 | 0 |
|
O. Peralta Striker Santos Laguna |
4 | 0 |
|
Giovani dos Santos Striker Mallorca |
3 | 1 |
|
Neymar Striker Santos |
3 | 1 |
