Morocco vs Spain LIVE: World Cup 2022 team news and line-ups as Marcos Llorente starts but no Alvaro Morata

Brazil players hold Pelé banner up following World Cup win against South Korea

Morocco play Spain in the last 16 of the Qatar World Cup today, with the winners set to face Portugal or Switzerland in the quarter-finals.

Spain finished second in their group despite thrashing Costa Rica and drawing with Germany, due to a shock loss to Japan on their last matchday of the first round.

Meanwhile, Morocco stunned Belgium and beat Canada after an opening draw with Croatia, topping their group to set up this tie with 2010 champions Spain.

Later today, Portugal take on Switzerland in the final last-16 game of Qatar 2022, with the victors from that match-up playing the winners of this game in the next round.

Follow all the action with our live blog below

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World Cup today: Spain aim to reach last eight and Fernando Santos unhappy with Cristiano Ronaldo

The World Cup 2022’s quarter-final line-up will be completed on Tuesday, with the remaining fixture slot to be filled by the winners from Portugal v Switzerland and Morocco v Spain.

Here, the PA news agency looks ahead to the final day of round-of-16 action in Qatar, and back at how Monday unfolded.

Brazil powered into the last eight with a 4-1 thumping of South Korea, setting up a clash with Croatia, who defeated Japan 3-1 on penalties.

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Hakimi on facing Spain

"Four years of experience since have meant I’ve come with a more mature mentality," said Hakimi in the build-up to today’s match.

"Spain are a top-five team and always come to the World Cup to win but our coach has also taught us to have a winning mentality. It doesn’t matter who we are up against. We are going to play our way and try to beat them.

"We finished first in the group and I think we deserve a little respect. I think that Spain know that and that they have to be a little afraid of us. Why can’t we pull off a surprise again?"

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Hakimi hoping to cause an upset

Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi is hoping his team can cause an upset this afternoon and knock Spain out of the World Cup.

Hakimi, who was born in Madrid and was selected for Spain’s junior teams, said: "It is something unique playing for your country and especially now that we are making history.

"It’s incredible to see how people are living it with us, and that energy transmits a lot to us and gives us strength to continue and look to do great things."

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Morocco vs Spain latest odds

Of the teams left in the competition Morocco have the least likely chance of winning the World Cup according to the latest betting odds from Betfair.

The African side are also the underdogs to win today’s game in 90 minutes and to qualify ahead of Spain for the quarter-finals.

Here are the odds:

To qualify

To win the 2022 World Cup

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Morocco vs Spain

Spain have never lost in three previous meetings with Morocco (two wins, one draw), with their two wins both coming in qualifying play-off legs for the 1962 World Cup in November 1961.

They won 1-0 away and 3-2 at home.

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Morocco warn Spain they will ‘come out swinging’ in World Cup last-16 clash

Morocco have warned Spain they will “come out swinging” in a bid to pull off another huge World Cup upset.

The north African side created one of the biggest shocks in the group phase of the tournament in Qatar with their 2-0 victory over Belgium, having already held 2018 finalists Croatia to a goalless draw.

Walid Regragui’s team finished top of their group and now face a Spain side in the last 16 still reeling from their own unexpected setback at the hands of Japan which almost cost them their place in the tournament.

Morocco are likely to enjoy the majority of the support at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan and Regragui believes the Atlas Lions are now playing for the whole of the African continent and the Arab world.

The north African side are hoping to cause another upset after beating Belgium in their second match

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Will 1000 penalties be enough to get Spain through a shootout?

Spain coach Luis Enrique gave his players a task of practising 1,000 penalties before they met up for the World Cup and the coach hopes that ‘homework’ will pay off against Morocco this afternoon.

Spain were eliminated on penalties by Italy in the semi-finals of last year’s Euros.

"I imagine that they have done their homework," said Enrique. "Over a year ago, in one of the Spain camps, I told them they had to get here with at least 1,000 penalties taken, if you wait until getting here to practise penalties... [it won’t be enough].

"It’s a moment of maximum tension, a time to show your nerve and that you can shoot the penalty in the way you have decided, if you have trained it a thousand times.

"It says a lot about each player. It’s trainable, manageable, how you manage the tension. It’s increasingly less luck - the goalkeepers have more influence.

"We have a very good goalkeeper, any of the three can do very well in this situation. Every time we finish training, I see a lot of players taking penalties."

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Morocco seek to ‘give the dream’ to all of Africa that future World Cup success remains in sight

And then there was one. Morocco are the last African side standing but at the first Arab World Cup, they are more than that. They are carrying a continent’s hopes, but they are representing the Middle East as well as Africa. They are the underdogs against Spain, but they believe they will have the support of two vast regions.

“Before it was just the Moroccans who supported us,” said their bullish head coach Walid Regragui. “Now it is the Africans and Arabs. We will come in with a winner’s attitude. We will come in swinging. We want to hoist our Moroccan flag well up high. The great nations are still here and it is up to us to give them a run for their money.”

Certainly there is no inferiority complex from Regragui. He accepts that Spain are widely expected to win. He respects their past. But he believes the future could lie in Morocco, if not elsewhere in Africa.

Head coach Walid Regragui has only been in the job a matter of months but has already added a new chapter of history

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Morocco vs Spain prediction

Morocco have the defensive resolution to frustrate Spain but ultimately there are more attacking reinforcements on the Europeans’ bench than on the Africans’.

Spain to progress after extra time, 2-1.

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Morocco vs Spain team changes

There is just one change to the Moroccan team that defeated Canada 2-1 in their last game of the groups stages. Selim Amallah comes into the midfield to replace Abdelhamid Sabiri.

Luis Enrique meanwhile makes five changes to the Spanish side. There are three new defenders in Aymeric Laporte, Marcos Llorente and Jordi Alba whilst Ferran Torres and Marco Asensio join Dani Olmo up top.


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