Scotland faces Morocco on Friday as the European nation looks to maintain its spot atop Group C.
Scotland has played just four games against African nations. It's only win came against South Africa in 2007. After its 1-0 win over Haiti, the Scots have firm control of the group and are in a good position to advance past the group stage.
Morocco is currenty on one point after its draw with Brasil. The 2026 tournament is the nations seventh World Cup appearance. Morroco will be hosting the 2030 World Cup along with Portugal and Spain.
The African nation is lead by stars Achraf Hakimi, Noussair Mazraoui and Hakim Ziyech who bring some experience to the squad as well as Brahim Díaz and Bilal El Khannouss who bring some youth to the roster.
Scotland captain Andy Robertson called Hakimi the best right back in the world at the moment.
"He's a fantastic player, one I think everyone enjoys watching," Robertson said. "He just plays with that freedom. So can't speak highly enough of him, huge admiration for him."
Morocco has played 15 games against UEFA nations. The African nation has four wins, six draws, and five losses. The most recent match was the 2022 World Cup third place match where Croatia defeated Morocco 2-1.
"They've got power, they've got pace, they've got little bits of skill," head coach Steve Clarke said when asked by The Blazing Musket about Morocco. "We have to be at our very best."
Another player that Scotland will have to keep an eye on is striker Ismael Salibari. The forward found the back of the net against Brasil and stading at 6'1" can be a tough opponent to defend in the box. Salibari is on the precipice of making a move from PSV Eindhoven to Bayern Munich with a medical having been conducted in the United States according to reports.
"He's got power, pace, but he's also what I'm going to say, not a natural center forward, a center forward who can cause the team problems by dropping deep and drifting into wide positions," Clarke said. Our center backs will need to be really on the game in terms of when to press in with him, when to recognize that he's out of position. He brings a lot of technical qualities, but he's also a very clever player."
After facing scalding heat when it first came to Boston, the weather will be rather tame on Friday evening. The temperature is slated to sit at 78 degrees farenheit with 12 mile per hour wind speeds.
