Two exhibition matches took place on the 25th and 26th of February in Morocco helping to jump-start their seasons
The hosts, Morocco, took care of business in both of the matches, flexing their muscles in the 11-5 win over France on Thursday the 26th of February, but they also showed their defensive might in a 6-2 win in the opening match on Wednesday, between the two very respected National Selections. The European former FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Champion, France, is evidence of how competitive every region in the World is now becoming and they will learn from these two training session losses. Morocco finished 2014 in a prominent cup, the Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup Dubai 2014 and things are already looking bright for 2015.
First things first, the friendly matches were set in Morocco with a beautiful beach backdrop, as always is the case in the sport, and the Lions of the Atlas showed their fans how dynamic their team can be. They faced an early deficit in the opening match, being down 1-0, Nassim made sure his team did not stay behind for long and struck a beautiful shot while falling backwards to tie things at 1. At that point, the Moroccans found their stride and rattled off another five goals to finish the game up 6-2. The following day was full of goals and spectacular ones at that. The African team scored in the opening minute and by the time France could start the comeback, they were down 4-0. Marques scored first for Les Bleus, but that first goal came too late and the period ended with Morocco up 7-1. When the final buzzer sounded, Morocco had done well by their fans and held on for the 11-5 victory.
France will be preparing for the big season ahead, including the Euro Beach Soccer League, in which they will still be competing in the top-flight division, Division A, against the likes of Spain, Russia, Portugal, and Italy, among others. Morocco will be playing this week in the Power Horse Beach Soccer African Trophy Durban 2015, as well as the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Portugal 2015 – CAF Qualifier Seychelles. If Morocco qualifies in the top-2, they will be headed to Portugal for the World Cup in July.
