Morocco Faces Challenges in Pre-World Cup Preparations
In a surprising turn of events, Morocco's preparations for the upcoming World Cup have been thrown into disarray due to an obscure FIFA regulation that has forced the team to cancel a crucial warm-up match. Scheduled to face Scotland in Boston during their second group game, the African champions find themselves in a tight spot as their plans to finalize their roster have been hindered by the involvement of many players in the latter stages of both European and Asian continental competitions.
Initially, the Moroccan team had intended to travel to the United States in late May; however, they have now had to postpone their journey until June. Their original plan included a friendly match against El Salvador on June 3 in the USA. In a bid to accommodate their circumstances, Morocco offered to host El Salvador in Rabat instead, promising to cover all associated travel costs for the Central American nation. Unfortunately, FIFA's regulations stipulate that teams cannot play matches on different continents within the same international window, which runs from June 1 to June 9, leading to the cancellation of this match.
The president of the El Salvador Football Association, Yamil Bukele, confirmed the development, stating, "We have received an official letter from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation informing us that they would not be able to have their full squad available from May 29 as initially planned. They proposed to play the match in Morocco on June 2, covering all costs related to our team’s trip to Africa. We appreciate this gesture as well as the professionalism shown and we would have been delighted to play this match, but unfortunately, it is impossible for us to accept this proposal." This situation leaves Morocco scrambling to find a new opponent for a friendly match ahead of their World Cup opener against Brazil, with their only confirmed game thus far being against Norway on June 7.
As reported by dailyrecord.co.uk.
