Morocco have been the surprising package in the ongoing edition of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar and the north African nation will hope to continue their impressive show against France in the semifinals on Wednesday. The team have so far conceded just one goal and have stunned heavyweights Spain and Portugal.
Morocco have heavily relied on defence, and capitalised on counter attacking opportunities, an approach which coach Walid Regragui said they’ll continue with.
Passing insights on the mood in the Moroccan camp, Regragui was quoted by Reuters as saying: “Everybody’s working, everybody is giving their best in every way and we play a collective game every time with a good spirit, which for me is everything in football.
“When you get to the semi-final of the World Cup and you are not hungry, there’s a problem. Not everyone is lucky to play at this stage of the tournament. The best team here, Brazil, has already been knocked out.”
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Despite the odd being heavily stacked against them, the coach maintained that they are confident to rewrite history.
“We are a very ambitious team, we are hungry. But I don’t know if it will be enough… it can be. We are confident and are determined to rewrite the history books.
“I know we are not the favourites, but we are confident. You might say I’m mad but I think a bit of craziness is good,” he said.
Morocco’s biggest threat will be Kylian Mbappe, who is currently the leading goal scorer of the tournament. However, Regragui is not solely focus on the French star and named a player from his side, who can stop him.
“I am not going to try and set up any particular tactical plan to counter Kylian France also has other good players. (Antoine) Griezmann is on top of his game and playing well between the lines and Ousmane Dembele is also a perfect complement to Mbappe on the other wing.
“If we just focus on Mbappe that will be a mistake. They are world champions, with world class players and they will be going for it with all they got. We need to focus on what we can do to cause problems for France.”
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Mbappe, on the left of the attack, goes up against Paris St Germain club mate and close friend Achraf Hakimi, who is Morocco’s highly rated right back.
“Achraf knows Mbappe better than me and trains with him on a daily basis, so he’s better placed than I am to know how to deal with Kylian. Hakimi is one of the best players in the world, so it’s going to be a great duel between the two,” Regragui said.