Morocco will be looking to secure another six points over the next two matchdays since due to their upcoming opponents' stadiums being deemed unfit for international competition, next week's 'away' leg between these sides will also be played here in Oujda.
Morocco will be looking to secure another six points over the next two matchdays since due to their upcoming opponents' stadiums being deemed unfit for international competition, next week's 'away' leg between these sides will also be played here in Oujda. That will give the Atlas Lions the perfect opportunity to build on their perfect record in this competition, following a commanding 4-1 win over Gabon in their opening match and a 1-0 win over Lesotho on the road in week two. With those results, Walid Regragui's side are now unbeaten in their last six matches, won each of their last four, and scored an impressive 13 goals during their win streak, while only conceding once. Since their tremendous disappointment at the last Africa Cup of Nations, the Atlas Stars have played four games on home soil and won three, with the only exception being a goalless draw against Mauritania in a friendly back in March. These sides last met during group qualification for the 2021 AFCON competition and Morocco won both matches, extending their unbeaten run against this opponent to five matches, including three wins and two draws. Meanwhile, the Central African Republic are now competing in their ninth AFCON qualification campaign and are hoping that this will finally be the year that they manage to earn a spot in main draw. Les Fauves got their qualifiers off to an excellent start, beating Lesotho 3-1 on opening day last month, but they failed to follow up on that result, suffering a 2-0 defeat on the road to Gabon four days later. Still, Raoul Savoy's side do have a positive record in 2024, with four wins earned in six matches, while their only other defeat this year was a 4-3 thriller agaianst Ghana in World Cup qualifying back in June. However, while CAR have shown improvement in recent months, they still need to address their tendency to leak goals cheaply, as we saw in each of their last three games during which they shipped seven. In addition to addressing their defensive issues, the visitors will have to improve their away record if they are to stand any chance of qualifying. In their last 12 matches on the road, Les Fauves have lost nine times and won just once. Written by 90 Live
