Patrick Vieira has identified Morocco as a potential dark horse in the ongoing World Cup, suggesting the African side has the quality to cause an upset and reach the latter stages of the tournament.
Morocco's World Cup Journey
Morocco made history four years ago in Qatar by becoming the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final, where they lost to eventual runners-up France. Under manager Mohamed Ouahbi, the team entered this summer's tournament with high expectations. They opened with a 1-1 draw against five-time winners Brazil, followed by victories over Scotland and Haiti, securing second place in Group C and advancing to the knockout rounds for only the third time in their history.
Vieira's Assessment
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, former World Cup winner Patrick Vieira said: 'I think the big nations at the end will get to the quarter-finals and semi-finals. I think Morocco can be the team that can cause a surprise and I think they have enough individual quality to be in the last eight. But outside of Morocco I think it will be difficult for all the other (smaller) nations to go through and get to the last four.'
Morocco now face a challenging round-of-32 match against Group F winners the Netherlands. If they overcome Ronald Koeman's side, a potential round-of-16 clash against either South Africa or Canada could offer a winnable path. However, Vieira doubts Morocco can replicate their semi-final run from 2022.
Other Dark Horse Predictions
Former England striker Gary Lineker tipped Ecuador as a potential threat after their 2-1 win over Germany. 'Ecuador have gone into this tournament 19 games unbeaten,' Lineker noted. 'I know they lost to Ivory Coast earlier in this round but they don't concede many goals so they could be a dangerous opponent, and it's not inconceivable that they might face England on that way.'
Ian Wright named the United States as his dark horses, predicting the co-hosts could reach the semi-finals. 'I think America will get to the semi-finals,' Wright told FourFourTwo. 'The reason I say that is because I think they have got a back four that is solid, they have midfielders who play at a good level and we saw with Flo Balogun that he can score goals. They have a fan base that is now starting to get it. Once the Knicks game finished, everyone started to say 'right, let's focus on the World Cup.' I think that if they can continue with that momentum and play like that with that energy with a striker up front taking chances like that then they can get to the semi-final to meet England.'
The United States lost to Turkey in their final group game but are favourites against Bosnia and Herzegovina in their round-of-32 match-up.
