It is the second matchday in Group B of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games football. Ukraine will take on Morocco at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. The match is set to kick off at 5 PM French local time.
Ukraine are coming off a disappointing loss against Iraq in their opening match. Despite having taken the lead through Valentyn Rubchynskyi in the 53rd minute of the game, they just couldn’t hold on. In fact, Iraq equalized just 4 minutes later through an Aymen Hussein penalty. 18 minutes later, Ali Jasim gave Iraq the lead, before the team from Asia went on to hold on for the remaining minutes. Now, Ruslan Rotan’s men will look forward to getting off the mark when they take on the controversy-marred Morocco.
Morocco, meanwhile, are coming off a very controversial win over Argentina. A match that saw pitch invasions, delays, fights and more, ended in favor of the African team after Argentina’s late equalizer was chalked off. Soufiane Rahimi gave Morocco the lead in the first half, before doubling the advantage in the 51st minute. Giuliano Simeone pulled one back for the team from South America, but it was of no avail, as Morocco held on to get off the mark.
Team News and Predicted XI
Ukraine
Ukraine will most likely go with the same team that started against Iraq a couple of days ago. The attack featuring Dmytro Kyrskiv and Maksym Bragaru might pose a major threat to the Moroccan defense.
Predicted XI: Fesyun; Krupskyi, Talovierov, Batagov, Martinyuk; Khlan, Rubchynskyi, Mykhailenko, Bragaru; Kryskiv, Sikan
Morocco
Young Ilias Akhomach’s participation might be in doubt. The Villarreal player went off injured during their match against Argentina.
Predicted XI: Mohamedi; Hakimi, El Azzouzi, Boukamir, El Ouahdi; Ezzalzouli, Targhalline, Richardson, Seghir; El Khannouss; Rahimi
Match Deciding Duel
Valentyn Rubchynskyi vs. Soufiane Rahimi
A certain battle of the striker contest might decide the duel. Both the strikers are coming off a good outing in their last match. However, Rahimi will have more to brag about, having scored a double, eventually leading his team to win over Argentina. The frontman who proves to be more clinical in the tie will take his team home.
Ukraine vs. Morocco Odds
Ukraine: 4.55
Morocco: 1.83
Prediction
Ukraine 0-1 Morocco
Riding off a great form over one of the tournament favorites Argentina, Morocco will have less pressure when they face a considerably easier opposition in Ukraine. Although, Ukraine will be raring to get off the mark, Morocco’s experience with the likes of Achraf Hakimi and Rahimi in their lineup will come in handy. A clean sheet for the African side.
