Sofyan Amrabat won his 50th cap for Morocco in a 2-0 win over Tanzania on Tuesday.
The defensive midfielder is now 12th on Morocco’s all time appearance list and only 24 caps away from reaching second place on the list. He still has some considerable work to do to reach Nourredine Naybet’s record of 93 caps, however. Although at only 27 years old, the United number four may fancy his chances.
The North African side were supposed to begin their World Cup qualification campaign against Eritrea on Thursday 16th November. However, the game was cancelled due to fears that Eritrean players “would attempt to seek political asylum during trips abroad”, due to the oppressive regime which currently governs the nation.
Nonetheless, the Moroccans got off to a perfect start by winning in Tanzania and currently top group E after the opening round of fixtures.
It was a special match for Amrabat as he won his 50th cap for the World Cup semi-finalists.
The Atlas Lions were convincing winners of the match through goals by Hakim Ziyech in the 28th minute and an own goal by Tanzania in the second half.
Amrabat himself played at the base of a midfield three, being tasked to shield the back four and be a playmaker from the back, as he so often does for his national side.
The midfielder played the whole 90 minutes and received a yellow card in the 65th minute. The North Africans had a horrendous start as Achraf Hakimi missed a penalty in only the third minute of play. This didn’t deter Morocco though and they scored two unanswered goals before Tanzanian defender, Novatus Miroshi, was sent off in the 65th minute to make the job even easier for Amrabat’s team.
The Fiorentina player, who is currently on loan at Manchester United, has had a rough start to his career at the club. The midfielder has struggled to nail down a starting role due to a combination of being played out of position, niggling injuries and poor form on his part.
It was even reported by The Peoples Person that United have already decided they are unlikely to pick up the option to sign him at the end of the season due to his inconsistent form.
This is in stark contrast to the Moroccan midfielder’s usual displays for his country. The player was instrumental in his nation reaching the final four of the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. Sofascore credited him with a 7.3 rating in their highly impressive win versus Brazil in March this year.
The man from Huizen, played the full 90 minutes with a jaw-dropping 91% pass rate accuracy. He also had five tackles, two blocked shots and two interceptions in a great defensive display.
The Moroccan will hope there is a way he can convince Erik ten Hag to include him more frequently in the Red Devils’ starting line-up and somehow transfer his form for his national team to the Premier League side. He will need to if he is to continue to live his “dream” of playing at Old Trafford beyond this season.