Confirmed line-ups:
Morocco: Monir El Kajoul (GK), Achraf Hakimi, Mehdi Benatia (C), Romain Saiss, Hakim Ziyach, Karim El Ahmadi, Younes Belhanda, Mbark Boussoufa, Noureddine Amrabat, Amine Harit, Ayoub El Kabbi
Iran: Ali Beiranvand (GK), Ehsan Hajisafi, Roozbeh Cheshmi, Morteza Pouraliganji, Ramin Rezaeian, Masoud Shojael (C), Omid Ebrahimi, Vahid Amiri, Karim Ansarifard, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Sardar Azmoun
Match Preview:Iran and Morocco meet in St Petersburg for the third match of Sandwiched between two high-profile matches in the day, it will nonetheless be a crucial contest for both teams who meet for the first time. Both will need a win to have any chance of qualifying from their group.
When and where to watch:
The match will be telecasted live in English on SONY TEN 2, in Hindi on SONY TEN 3 and in Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu on SONY ESPN.
Time: 8.30 PM IST
For live streaming, the match can be streamed at sonyliv.com
Road to World Cup: Iran qualified for their fifth appearance at the World cup while topping their group. In the 2014 World Cup, Iran could manage just one goal although they will expect to find the back of the net more often this time with better-attacking options.
Morocco is appearing in World Cup finals for the fifth tournament. They last played in a World Cup two decades ago in 1998. Morocco also topped their group during the World Cup qualifiers.
Iran 23-man squad:
Goalkeepers:Amir Abedzadeh, Alireza Beiranvand, Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri
Defenders: Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Majid Hosseini, Mohammad Khanzadeh, Milad Mohammadi, Pejman Montazeri, Morteza Pouraliganji, Ramin Rezaeian
Midfielders: Vahid Amiri, Ashkan Dejagah, Omid Ebrahimi, Saeid Ezatolahi, Ali Gholizadeh, Ehsan Hajsafi, Masoud Shojaei, Mehdi Torabi
Forwards: Karim Ansarifard, Saman Ghoddos, Reza Ghoochannejhad, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Mehdi Taromi
Formation and tactics: Iran line up in a 4-3-3 with a midfielder who sits deep in front of the back four. The team tries to win the ball aggressively and often uses long passes to the wingers who deliver crosses to the forwards.
Players to watch out for: Two-footed winger Alirez Jahanbakshsh.
Trivia: Iran's Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored 21 goals in the Eredivisie last season – two more than any other player in the division.
morocco national team
Morocco 23-man squad: Goalkeepers: Mounir El Kajoui, Yassine Bounou, Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti
Defenders: Medhi Benatia, Romain Saiss, Manuel Da Costa, Nabil Dirar, Achraf Hakimi, Hamza Mendyl
Midfielders: M'barek Boussoufa, Karim El Ahmadi, Youssef Ait Bennasser, Sofyan Amrabat, Younes Belhanda, Faycal Fajr, Amine Harit
Forwards: Khalid Boutaib, Aziz Bouhaddouz, Ayoub El Kaabi, Mehdi Carcela, Hakim Ziyech, Nordin Amrabat, Youssef En-Nesyri. + 1 reserve: Oualid El Hajjam
Formation and tactics: Juventus centre-back Medhi Benatia is the captain and the star player. Morocco play a 4-3-3, with one of the central midfielders pushing up to support attacks from the hole. Morocco likes to defend well and then break at pace.
Key players: Captian Medhi Benatia. Hakin Ziyech for creativity.
Trivia: The Lions of the Atlas are managed by Herve Renard, who is the only manager to win the Africa Cup of Nations with two different nations (Zambia and the Ivory Coast).