Can Morocco pull off another World Cup upset against the Netherlands today?

MONTERREY, Mexico, June 29 (Agencies): The Netherlands take on Morocco in a clash of two in-form, top-10-ranked sides in Monday's round of 32 blockbuster at Monterrey, Mexico.

Both star-studded teams produced impressive performances in the group stage, laying down a marker of their attacking threat.

The Dutch have a strong knockout record of late, having progressed from seven of their last 10 World Cup knockout matches since 2010. But as history has shown, African champions Morocco are capable of pulling off epic upsets - the most famous of them all was upstaging Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the quarterfinals at Qatar 2022.

While the teams are not exactly familiar foes, there is a large degree of shared ties, with Morocco having three Dutch-born players on their side and their top scorer, Ismael Saibari, playing in the Dutch league.

The Netherlands were held to a 2-2 draw by Japan in their opening game of the tournament before they thrashed Sweden 5-1 in the second match. They wrapped up the first round with a 3-1 win over Tunisia, confirming their top spot in Group F.

Of the 10 goals the Dutch registered across three games, Brian Bobby bagged three, while Crysencio Summerville and Cody Gakpo scored two each. Virgil van Dijk and Jan Paul van Hecke scored a goal apiece, too, while Denzel Dumfries and Ryan Gravenberch bagged two assists each.

While Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman expects a thriller in Monterrey, he believes the fixture has come too early for the teams, both of whom are tipped to have a deep run in North America. "It's a big thing for this game to take place now because we are both teams that ought to go further than this stage," Koeman said. "It's a very important match between two teams that want to go as far as possible in the tournament, and a match of this nature comes a little too soon at the World Cup, I would say." Nonetheless, Koeman asserted that his FIFA world-ranked No 7 team will adopt an attacking approach against Morocco, ranked one place higher at six, as both look to stay alive in the race for football's greatest prize.

Morocco started their campaign by holding Brazil to a 1-1 draw before they beat Scotland 1-0 in the next match day. A 4-2 win over Haiti in their final group game confirmed their second-place finish in Group C, below Brazil, on goal difference. Ismael Saibari accounted for three of Morocco's six goals scored in the group stage, while Soufiane Rahimi, Achraf Hakimi and Gessime Yassine also got a goal each. Real Madrid attacking midfielder Brahim Diaz bagged two assists. If Saibari - who plays for Dutch club PSV Eindhoven - scores against the Netherlands, he will equal Roger Milla's record of four goals for Cameroon to become the joint-highest African scorer in World Cup history.

Morocco's unbeaten record in the group stage has raised expectations, but coach Nabil Ouahbi believes those results will count for nothing when they begin their knockout campaign against the Netherlands.

"In the last three matches, we showed that we are capable of producing good performances and that we have a strong personality on the pitch," Ouahbi told reporters on Sunday.

"But tomorrow's (Monday) match is different and requires different solutions. That is the mentality with which we will enter the game."

Ouahbi's side has already joined elite company, becoming just the third African nation to reach the knockout stages at consecutive World Cups, after Nigeria (1994 and 1998) and Ghana (2006 and 2010). Morocco's best World Cup result came in 2022, when they became the first African and Arab side to reach the semifinals.

Opta's supercomputer has calculated a 45 per cent probability of the Netherlands winning this fixture in regulation time, while Morocco is assessed a 26 percent chance of victory.

The probability of going to extra time or penalties is 29 per cent.

The winner of the Netherlands vs Morocco match will face Canada in the round of 16, after they beat South Africa 1-0 in the first match of the round of 32.

Monday's game will see the Netherlands and Morocco meet at the World Cup for only the second time, with their first encounter having been in the 1994 edition. The Dutch triumphed 2-1 on that occasion.

The Netherlands are also unbeaten in their six World Cup matches against African opponents (W5 D1), following their win over Tunisia.