MOROCCO

Frenchman Henri Michel is under pressure despite transforming the sleeping giants into a team ranked the best in Africa for more than one year. The many successes of the man who took France to third place at the 1986 World Cup were almost instantly forgotten as the Atlas Lions crumbled 4-0 in Belgium last September. When Morocco hosted the United States several months later in Marrakesh, there was unprecedented whistling during the national anthem and Michel was left in no doubt as to what many supporters thought of him. Nothing less than outright victory will satisfy success-starved Moroccans, who celebrated their only Nations Cup triumph 1976. But just getting beyond the first round at the 2000 finals is going to be difficult with opponents like Nigeria and superbly-prepared Tunisia. While Michel emphasises unity and teamwork, he can call on some of the most exciting individuals on the continent led by Coventry City players Mustapha Hadji, the 1998 African Footballer of the Year, and Youssef Chippo .

Coach

Henri Michel

Squad

Abdelilah Fahmi

Abdeljilil Hadda

Abdelkrim El Hadrioui

Abdellilah Saber

Abderrafie Gassi

Adil Ramzi

Ahmed Bahja

Hassan Kachloul

Jamal Sellami

Khalid Fouhami

Lahcen Abrami

Mohamed Al Badaroui

Mustapha Chadili

Mustapha Hadji

Noureddine Naybet

Rachid Benmahmoud

Rachid Neqrouz

Said Chiba

Salaheddine Bassir

Taher El Khalej

Youssef Mariana