Our prediction for this match:
Buoyed by a historical 2-1 win over star-studded Brazil, Morocco will look to give fans yet another reason to celebrate when they face Peru in yet another friendly. The World Cup semifinalists proved their worth in Saturday’s clash, and, no doubt, they are high on spirits ahead of the trip to Madrid. Even though boss Walid Regragui is likely to rest key players Hakim Ziyech, Youssef En-Nesyri, and Achraf Hakimi in Tuesday’s friendly, home win should be considered.
All Attiyat Allah, Sabiri, and Louza are pushing for a start. La Blanquirroja, on the other hand, failed to spoil Germany’s party at Mewa Arena (0-2), which is yet another reason why we are going to bet on the nominal hosts. Cagliari forward Gianluca Lapadula is widely expected to return to Peru’s starting XI after coming as a substitute in the defeat to Hansi Flick’s troops.
Highlighted Player (Gianluca Lapadula):
Gianluca Lapadula, also known as Lapagol, due to his goalscoring abilities, was born in Turin and started his career at Juventus youth team, but was released because he wasn’t doing well in his studies. After the departure with Juventus, Lapadula perfected his goalscoring skills in lower Italian leagues and even spent one year in NK Gorica, Slovenia.
During his spell in Ravenna, he managed to finish the season 2012/13 as the top scorer in the group, netting 24 goals in the process. For a long period of time, the 28-year-old was Parma’s player, but he went on loans often, and, after Parma went bankrupt, Lapagol moved to Pescara. With 30 goals in 43 appearances, the striker caught the eye of Serie A giant Milan. He netted his first goal for the Rossoneri only three minutes after he came on as a substitute.
The following season Lapagol became the striker of Genoa. Even though he was called to play for Peru, the Genoa hitman decided to represent Italy, getting his first call to the senior squad in November 2016. However, he never made an official appearance for Italy, since he only played an unofficial friendly against San Marino, when he scored a hat-trick.
Highlighted Team (Morocco):
Morocco, the Atlas Lions, are the first African team to win a group at the World Cup finals. Back in 1986 the team managed to finish the group stages above Portugal, Poland and England, but West Germany proved to be a big catch for the Moroccan national team in the last 16 of the tournament.
The Atlas Lions participated at the World Cup finals on four occasions, but winning of the 1976 African Cup of Nations is considered the team’s biggest success. Morocco were producing outstanding displays at the tournament in Ethiopia and it has to be noted that they defeated Guinea in the title game.
Morocco play their home games at Stade Adrar and Stade de Marrakech and they wear red shirts and green shorts when playing in front of home fans. A number of top-class footballers played for Morocco in the past, but Mustafa Hadji is certainly the biggest star who played for the Moroccan national team.