Portugal vs Morocco

Portugal and Morocco meet on Wednesday in the World Cup for their second match in Group B. Portugal has one point after drawing Spain thanks to the magic of Cristiano Ronaldo in the first match, while Morocco looks to get its first point after that shock defeat to Iran on an own goal in added time.

It could be a must-win for both, with Spain expected to get three points vs. Iran, which already has three points after knocking off Morocco on Friday.

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It will be another tough match for Portugal as Morocco isn't afraid to play physical, but if Ronaldo is on his game, then the Portuguese team should have enough to take three points.

Both teams enter this match healthy and ready to roll.

Here's how you can watch the match and more. And be sure to return a half an hour before kickoff for our live blog of the game:What is it?
This is the World Cup 2018 match between Portugal and Morocco.

When is it?
It will take place on Wednesday, June 20.

What time is kick-off?
The match is the first of the day, kicking off at 1pm (BST).

What TV channel is it on?
It will be shown live on BBC1. Should you not have access to a TV, you can also follow all the team news and live action right here where this page turns into our live blog.Victory today is a must and would knock Morocco out of the tournament following the North Africans' late defeat to Iran on Friday.

The nation expects: Winning the Euros two years ago means Portugal can no longer rely on a ‘dark horses’ tag.

Their fans expect Fernando Santos’ side to go far in the tournament and that means dispatching the likes of Morocco relatively comfortably.

Key battles/Star men: Morocco were the only African side not to concede a goal in qualifying.But how well Romain Saiss - who plays at centre-back for his country as opposed to midfield for Wolves - will cope with power, pace and footballing genius of Ronaldo is a worry.

Weakest links: Goalkeeper Munir is a concern for the Atlas Lions. He barely played for for Spanish second-tier side Numancia this season and is not great coming for high balls.

The middle of Portugal’s defence is also not what it was two years ago.

Pepe is past his prime while Rangers’ Bruno Alves and ex-West Ham flop Jose Fonte have struggled.

Likely line-ups and Team Talk: Santos should have a full squad of players to pick from and could well stick with the team that played Spain.

He will be hoping a few of his other players step up though and be a little less reliant on Ronaldo, who now has a staggering 84 goals in 151 games for his country.

Probable team: Rui Patricio; Cedric Soares, Pepe, Jose Fonte, Raphael Guerreiro; Bernado Silva, Joao Moutinho, William Carvalho, Bruno Fernandes; Goncalo Guedes, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Fans have been swooning over Morocco’s heartthrob boss Herve Renard - who once bossed Cambridge United - and the Frenchman will hope his side are as good-looking on the pitch as supporters think he is off it.Morocco beat Portugal 3-1 in their only previous encounter, in the group stages of the 1986 World Cup. It was Morocco’s first ever win at the tournament.
Portugal’s only defeat against African opposition at the World Cup came against Morocco in 1986 (1-3) – they’ve won two and drawn one of their subsequent three games against them.
Portugal have not lost against a non-European nation at the World Cup since June 2002, when they lost 1-0 to South Korea (W5 D3 since).
Portugal have lost only one of their last 10 World Cup group games (0-4 v Germany in 2014), winning five and drawing the other four.
Morocco did not face a single shot in the second half of their opening match against Iran.
Morocco had 68% possession in their 1-0 defeat to Iran, the most by a losing team in a World Cup match since June 2010, when Spain had 73% possession against Switzerland but lost 1-0.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s three goals for Portugal against Spain made him the oldest hat-trick scorer in the history of the World Cup (33y 130d). His third goal in that game was also the first time he’d scored from direct free-kick in a major international tournament, at the 45th attempt.
Portugal talisman Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Spain in their opening match, making him just the fourth player to score in four separate World Cup tournaments, after Uwe Seeler, Pele and Miroslav Klose.