Moroccan AFCON elimination sends Adli and Mazraoui back to Germany

Adli worked off the bench in all three of Morocco’s group stage fixtures. The former French youth international unsurprisingly received a start from Moroccan trainer Walid Regragui this time following his solid work throughout the tournament’s initial phase. In a much more surprising development, Bayern right back Mazraoui was immediately handed a start despite the fact that injury issues left him out of all three of Regragui’s match-day squads.

Neither Bundesliga profi performed especially poorly in the defeat. Adli, starting on the right wing, dropped deep to win several midfield balls that led to scoring chances. Mazraoui – who had to start on his unnatural left to accommodate former Dortmund star Achraf Hakimi on the right-hand-side of the back-four – looked lively enough and kept things ticking on his flank.

Unable to turn their superior play into an opening goal, the Moroccans were nevertheless made to pay when the underdogs scored the 1-0 totally out-of-the-blue. Because Hakimi only hit the crossbar when attempting to score the equalizer from the penalty spot in the 85th, Hugo Broos’ side were able to score again off a free-kick at 90+5.

Adli rattled off two shots and assisted on another during his precisely hour-long shift. He went on six long carries and hit his colleagues with 14 completed passes. Mazraoui was equally as effective (90 percent) on passing and sent in five crosses among his 40 touches. The FCB outside defender’s night also ended early (76 minutes), most likely due to fitness concerns.