Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi will line up in the World Cup game against Scotland on Friday after an appeals court in France confirmed he must stand trial on rape charges. Paris Saint-Germain defender Hakimi is facing allegations that he raped a 24-year-old woman in the Paris region in 2023, which he denies. Scotland started with five defenders, compared to four in their opening Group C win against Haiti, with Nathan Patterson and Kieran Tierney being brought into the side as coach Steve Clarke bolstered his backline.Clarke opted to play with a lone striker in Che Adams, dropping Lawrence Shankland to the bench. He also brought in Ryan Christie in the place of speedy winger Ben Gannon-Doak.Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi decided to start with teenager Ayyoub Bouaddi again after the France-born 18-year-old's standout performance against Brazil. The Moroccans were unchanged from their opening match, with a four-man defence and striker Brahim Diaz up front.Lineups:Scotland: Angus Gunn; Kieran Tierney, Andy Robertson, Grant Hanley, Jack Hendry, Nathan Patterson; Scott McTominay, John McGinn, Ryan Christie, Lewis Ferguson; Che AdamsMorocco: Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Issa Diop, Chadi Riad, Noussair Mazraoui; Ayyoub Bouaddi, Azzedine Ounahi, Ismael Saibari, Bilal El Khannouss, Neil El Aynaoui, Brahim DiazThe United States powered into the last 32 of the World Cup on Friday with a 2-0 victory over Australia as Brazil prepared to kickstart their campaign against Haiti. A day after Mexico sealed their place in the knockout rounds, the USA emulated their fellow World Cup co-hosts with a clinical Group D win over Australia in Seattle.A Cameron Burgess own goal in the 11th minute and a headed effort from Alex Freeman two minutes before half-time sealed a comfortable win for Mauricio Pochettino's side, who have advanced to the second phase of the tournament with a game to spare.After an unconvincing build-up, the Americans have made a dream start to the tournament with Friday's victory following a stylish 4-1 demolition of Paraguay in their opening game last week.The co-hosts could even clinch first place in Group D later on Friday if Turkey lose or draw against Paraguay in the late match. "It was a fantastic game again. We dominated against a very tough team," Pochettino said.
Achraf Hakimi of Morocco is playing against Scotland despite France court declares he must stand trial
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi decided to start with Achraf Hakimi despite the controversy.










