Russia were preparing for the World Cup finals whereas Morocco weren't. This obviously meant Russia were taking the game much more seriously than their opposition for the next 90 minutes. The Russians played a relaively strong side, with the likes of Akinfeev, Zhirkov and Kokorin starting. But Morocco were fielding a far from full strength squad, with the likes of Adel Taarabt and Belhanda not starting, however the latter was on the bench in case the Moroccans needed him.
From early on in the game, Russia had control of the game. The first chance came in just the 5th minute, with Samedov putting a dangerous, low cross into the penalty area. However, Kokorin could not reach it, and Fegrouche calmly claimed the ball. Just a minute later, Russia created a similar chance and this time managed to force a corner. Nothing came of the corner however and Morocco regain possession. Just minutes later, Yuri Zhirkov was fouled by El Addoua, but no yellow card was shown and the former Chelsea winger recovered from the foul.
The game was relatively quiet until the 28th minute when Aleksandr Kokorin took a shot which was deflected wide for a corner. The resultig corner led to a rebound which was tucked away by Valeriy Belerutski to give Russia a 1-0 lead over the Moroccans. Russia began controlling the game from this point onwards, but Morocco refused to sit back and relax. They were pressing to get into the Russian box and level the scores, but couldn't quite make the final pass.
It reached half time still 1-0 to Russia, but neither team had looked eager to wrap the game up to this point. Fabio Capello's side could be caused problems at the World Cup if similar performances follow this one up to this point. With Belgium to face in the group stage, and South Korea, they could be facing problems if they fail to perform better.
Russia began the second half much more aggressively and looked certain to increase their lead very soon. Within the first 7 minutes of the second half, Kokorin had 2 good chances, within a minute of each other. The first threaded Kokorin through but the Morocco goalkeeper came off his line and grabbed the ball before Kokorin could get a shot away. The second left Kokorin costless in the penalty box to head the ball goalwards but the ball was headed high and wide by the young Russian.
After another quiet 5 minutes, Yuri Zhirkov put Russia 2 goals up with a cracking left footed volley from the edge of the area, leaving the Moroccan goalkeeper helpless on his goal line. From here onwards, Russia controlled the game and Kerzhakov was soon introduced to help Russia wrap up the victory. However, in the final half an hour of the game, Russia could not find the back of the net again to assure victory. But Morocco were getting closer to scoring, and with the edition of Younes Belhanda, their attack got stronger. Despite this, they kind not find the 2 goals they needed to win the match and they ended up losing 2-0.
Neither team seemed at their best, but Russia will be pleased with their momentum gained entering the greatly anticipated FIFA World Cup, kicking off in just 6 days.