Morocco's 1-1 friendly draw with Norway in New York ended with the scoreline taking second place to two injury worries. Noussair Mazraoui and Abdessamad Ezzalzouli both went off injured, which is the part of the night Morocco will care about most. The result itself came after Brahim Díaz opened the scoring and Martin Ødegaard levelled it.
How the goals unfolded
Morocco's opener was clean and direct. Brahim Díaz found the bottom corner with a powerful right-footed shot from inside the box. Martin Ødegaard then swept home the equaliser on 75 minutes after being teed up by Oscar Bobb. That gave the game a proper friendly feel, with both sides getting useful minutes and the scoreline staying level.
The football mattered, but the injury news is what will stay under the microscope. BBC live text commentary said Morocco will be sweating on the fitness of both Noussair Mazraoui and Abdessamad Ezzalzouli after the pair both went off injured. The sources do not say more than that, and that is enough to make this one a concern rather than a routine draw.
Morocco's World Cup schedule comes quickly
The timing is awkward because Morocco move straight into a World Cup opener against Brazil on 13 June at 22:00 UTC. Their second group game is against Scotland on 19 June at 22:00 UTC, and their third is against Haiti on 24 June at 22:00 UTC. If either player needs time, there is not much of it.
That is why a 1-1 draw in New York will be remembered less for the point and more for what happened to Mazraoui and Ezzalzouli. For Morocco, the next update on their fitness is the one that matters.
Compiled by the ClutchBrief Desk with AI assistance, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →