Morocco prepare for World Cup with 2-1 win over Slovakia

IANS  |  Geneva 

came from behind to defeat 2-1 in the North African side's penultimate friendly before the 2018 Cup.

set a blistering tempo in the opening minutes, keeping the European side bottled-up in their own end and threatening twice in the first quarter-hour: hit the post and forced a difficult save from Slovak

Nordin Amrabat, Mehdi Benatia, and also had chances for in the first half.

Seeing little of the ball, had to rely on the counter and the approach nearly paid off, but Marek Hamsik's effort from close range went over the cross-bar.

The Moroccans slowed down a little in the second half and the Slovaks made the most of the respite, taking a 1-0 lead in the 57th minute on a low, hard shot from outside the box by

After conceding for the first time in nearly a year, Morocco were quick to respond.

Ayoub Kaabi, who came on at the hour mark for Khalid Boutaib, needed only three minutes to bring his side level, heading in a corner in the 63rd minute to ignite a ferocious rally.

Though Slovak shifted to five at the back in a bid to blunt the Moroccan attack, Belhanda put his side ahead 2-1 in the 74th minute, pouncing on a rebound and putting the ball well out of the reach of Sulla.

Morocco will play later this week in in before heading to Russia, where their Cup campaign begins June 15 with a match against

The Moroccans' other opponents in the group stage will be and in Group B.

--IANS

in/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Tue, June 05 2018. 10:14 IST