Ghana and Morocco will face off this Monday in the first round of the 2022 African Cup of Nations held in Cameroon.
Venue: Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo
Key Statistics
Morocco have won 26 of their last 30 meetings in all competitions (D2, L1).
They have kept clean sheets in 14 of their last 16 games.
Ghana have won five of their last ten games (D3, L2).
They have kept just four clean sheets in their ten games.
Ghana are making their ninth consecutive appearance at the AFCON.
Head to head
Both teams have met nine times in the past, with Morocco winning four times in that period (D3, L2).
Latest Performances in all competitions
Morocco: L-W-W-W-W
Ghana: L-W-D-W-W
Morocco
In-form Morocco will begin their AFCON campaign with a match against Ghana on Monday.
The North African side have been put in a fairly easy group alongside Ghana, Comoros and Gabon. Based on their current form, they are expected to win this group ahead of Ghana.
Morocco who are making their third straight appearance in the tournament come into this tie on the back of a 3-2 penalty shootout loss to Algeria in the World Cup qualifiers playoffs.
The loss ended a run of 34 games without defeat for the onetime AFCON winners, showing how impressive they have been in recent times. In fact, they have not lost a competitive game within 90 minutes since a 1-0 loss to Portugal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup (W25, D9) and are considered genuine favourites in this year’s AFCON campaign.
Vahid Halihodzic’s side is are blessed with an array of star players and on their day have the ability to hurt any side.
The Atlas Lions’ have kept 17 clean sheets from 21 matches since the beginning of 2021 (an 81% shutout rate). They will fancy their chances of keeping another clean sheet now and, in that way, begin their 2022 AFCON campaign with a huge result.
Possible Morocco starting line-ups
Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Romain Saiss, Nayef Aguerd, Tarik Tissoudali; Sofyan Amrabat, Faycal Fajr, Aymen Barkok; Munir El Haddadi, Sofiane Boufal, Youssef En-Nesyri.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Ghana
Four-time AFCON champions Ghana will look to begin their 2022 African Cup of Nations campaign with a win over Morocco when both sides meet in Yaounde this Monday.
The Black Stars are aiming for redemption in this tournament after a round of 16 exit in their most outing. They have been amongst the final four teams in six of the last seven editions and earned their place in this round by finishing top of their qualifiers group.
They are currently ranked eighth in Africa and boast an array of high-quality players. However, they have a recent history of false starts, after failing to win their opening group game in three of the last four AFCON tournaments.
They will be desperate to begin with a win this time around and give themselves the morale boost they need to finish within the top two positions in their group.
Possible Ghana starting line-ups
Joseph Wolacott; Baba Abdul Rahman, Daniel Amartey, Jonathan Mensah, Andy Yiadom; Thomas Partey, Mubarak Wakaso; Joseph Paintsil, Kamal Suleymana, Samuel Owusu; Jordan Ayew.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Morocco 2-1 Ghana
