Morocco and the Netherlands compete with a special flair.

The fellowship of five Moroccan players with five Dutch players will turn into a fair rivalry tomorrow, Monday, at the Monterrey stadium in Mexico, local time, to secure a spot in the round of 16 of the North American World Cup in football.

Ismail Sabiri, the top scorer for the "Atlas Lions" in the current edition with three goals, along with his compatriot left-back Anas Salah Eddine and midfielder Guus Til, lifted the Dutch league cup with PSV Eindhoven a few weeks ago.

The left-back for Manchester United, Noussair Mazraoui, played for a long time with Barcelona's playmaker Frenkie de Jong and Liverpool's midfielder Ryan Gravenberch at Ajax Amsterdam, and he also defended alongside the latter for Bayern Munich in Germany.

As for the captain, Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi, he played alongside Italian Roma striker Donyell Malen at Borussia Dortmund in Germany, while veteran midfielder Sofyan Amrabat from Real Betis in Spain played with Noa Lang at Club Brugge in Belgium.

Hakimi, who previously faced his PSG captain Marquinhos in the opening match of the current edition against Brazil (1-1), confirmed that "there are no friendships on the pitch," emphasizing his respect for his former teammate at Roma, Malen.

For his part, Sabiri spoke after the victory over Haiti 4-2 in the third round about the possibility of facing Til in the next round, saying it would be "a nice thing," adding: "I will meet some friends, and that is really great. But I haven't followed the Netherlands closely yet; I will listen to the coach to know what the tactics will be."

Salah Eddine shared these warm feelings, adding: "A great match, of course. I will play against my best friends. The Netherlands is a great team, but I feel the same way about our national team."

After the draw placed Morocco against Brazil in the first round of the group stage, which was the first major clash in the current edition, it did not spare them in the round of 32 either, putting them in a fiery match against the Netherlands, which topped its sixth group, in the first heated clash of the second round.

The match holds great significance for both teams aspiring to go far in the current edition, whether it is the "Oranje" team, which has lost three finals in its World Cup history, or Morocco, which finished fourth in the last edition and aims to reach the final for the first time in its history.

The match also comes amid a significant debate and fierce competition for talents of Moroccan descent, many of whom have chosen their country of origin and roots over their country of upbringing, most notably Mazraoui.