Morocco plays favored Norway to stunning draw

Morocco plays favored Norway to stunning draw

MONTPELLIER (Agencies): Morocco showed it will be a force to
be reckoned with in France by holding favored Norway to a 2-2
draw in their first Group A match here Wednesday.

The red-and-green shirts went a long way toward proving the
prophecy of World Cup organizer Michel Platini that African teams
would have powerful impact on this World Cup by forcing the
Scandinavians to an unexpectedly difficult game.

Playing a fast-paced, attacking game, Morocco twice went in
front with talented midfielder Moustafa El Hadji and striker
Abdeljili Hadda.

Norway, which is expected to qualify for the second round
behind Brazil, needed help from a Moroccan defender for its first
goal before clinching the definite 2-2 equalizer with Dan Eggen
in the 61st minute.

Morocco's French coach, 50-year-old Henri Michel, was far from
enthusiastic about the game's outcome.

"I am disappointed by this result because we conceded two very
unlucky goals. We definitely have to improve on our defending,"
Michel said.

"But one point is better than nothing," he added.

Contrary to expectations, his Norwegian counterpart, Egil
Olsen, seemed the most pleased of the two: "We met a very strong
team, I was very impressed by their performance. All in all I am
quite satisfied with the draw."

Bright red was the dominant color at the Stade de la Mosson in
Montpellier as fans from Morocco and Norway blended cheerfully on
the tightly-packed stands at least an hour before kick off.

Ranked by FIFA six places in front of Morocco, the
Scandinavians were the ones expected to make the game.

Barring an initial 15 minutes of greater ball possession, it
was physical stature rather than technique that distinguished the
two sides, with the tall Norwegian strikers often overpowering
Morocco's smaller defenders.

Confidence

Big striker Tore Andre Flo was a constant threat and the
Norwegians' neat interplay looked like finding a way through.
However, as Morocco soaked up the pressure it grew in confidence
and Hadji twice tested keeper Frode Grodas with long-range
efforts.

The Africans took the lead when Hadji, playing through the
pain of a broken toe, latched on to a sweeping 40-meter pass by
Tahare El Khalej, cut inside Eggen and drove a powerful shot low
past Grodas.

The equalizer came in first half injury time when Youssef
Chippo, back defending a free kick, headed the ball into his own
net after Henning Berg had beaten keeper Driss Benzekri to Kjetil
Rekdal's cross.

Morocco shrugged off the disappointment and poured forward
after the break.

Hadda went close with a diving header in the 57th minute and
was celebrating two minutes later.

Once again it was a telling long ball by El Khalej that sent
him clear and after killing the ball beautifully he held off
Eggen's challenge to score.

However, the lead lasted just three minutes and 'keeper
Benzekri was again at fault. He failed to hold a Stig Bjornebye
corner and the ball fell invitingly for Eggen to stoop and head
home.

Norway substitute Stale Solbakken almost scored with his first
touch soon after but saw his effort cleared off the line.

As the Moroccans tired, Norway finished on top, but were
unable to find another way past the commanding Naybet and his
well-organized colleagues.

Man-of-the-match Hadji is now convinced Morocco can create
some headaches even to incumbent Brazil, which defeated Scotland
2-1 in the inauguration match earlier in the day.

"I am convinced that Morocco will be the surprise team of the
group and I don't see why we can't cause some problems for
Brazil. "After all we don't have that much to lose," Hadji said.

Morocco plays its next game against Brazil in Nantes on June
16.

In Rabat, thousands of Moroccans took to the streets, blowing
car horns and bellowing soccer chants, after their side's draw
with Norway.

Moroccan leading daily Le Matin summed up the enthusiastic
mood yesterday, saying Morocco was and remained a great soccer
nation.

"Morocco has confounded all forecasts and forced the
admiration of all observers by giving a beautiful soccer lesson
to the too self-confident Norwegians who have been proclaiming
their superiority for weeks," the newspaper said.

Group A table (tabulated under games played, drawn, lost, goals
for, goals against and points):

Brazil 1 1 0 0 2 1 3

Morocco 1 0 1 0 2 2 1

Norway 1 0 1 0 2 2 1

Scotland 1 0 0 1 1 2 0