THE Lions of the Atlas did the job, Saturday evening, by winning with a large score of 5 goals to 0 against the Central African Republic selection, during the match of the third day of the qualifiers for the CAN 2025 which pitted the two teams at the Stade d’Honneur in Oujda. Enterprising, Yassine Bounou’s teammates opened the scoring in the first quarter of an hour with a goal of Abedessamad Ezzalzouli. Subsequently, the protégés of Walid Regragui have achieved a series of achievements via Azzedine Ounahi (38th) on a service of Youssef Belammari, Ashraf Hakimi (45e) and Ounahi who scored his second goal at the end of the first period (45+2). The Atlas Lions’ offensive festival continued in the second half, with a fifth and final goal, the work of Soufiane Rahimi (71st).
Continue to take risks and improve end-of-match management
Satisfied with the result and the manner of the match against the Central African Republicnational coach Walid Regragui revealed in a post-match conference that his team was now taking risks to score goals and that there was still work to be done in terms of managing the end of matches. “We are a team that now takes risks to score. As you know, the CAN is being played in Morocco and we must learn to take risks. The main lesson to be learned from this first match against Central Africa is that the first half is always important for us. When we increase intensity and score quickly, we manage to bend the match in our favor, as was the case against Congo or Gabon. Afterwards, there is management, this is one of the points that I do not like during these types of matches, because you have to maintain the same intensity of the first period throughout the match to be a formidable team. The role of changes is important for us in order to remain at the same intensity,” analyzed the national coach.
Walid Regragui gives news of Yassine Bounou and Nayef Aguerd
Replaced by Mounir M’Hamdi in the first half against the Central African Republic due to an injury, Yassine Bounou was mentioned by coach Walid during the press conference. The national coach hoped that his goalkeeper’s injury would not keep him from the field for too long. “Unfortunately, Bounou suffered an injury while he was at the top of his form. I hope that this injury is not serious and that it will not keep him away from the field for too long, that he will be able to be with us during the November rally,” said coach Walid.
Concerning Nayef Aguerdalso injured during this match, the former WAC coach revealed that if his defender was not operational on Tuesday, he would be forced to make changes. “I also hope that Nayef Aguerd’s injury is not serious. He is an important player for us in the team and in the defensive sector. If he is not ready for the next match, we will definitely make changes. Certainly, we observed during the match against Lesotho that when there are changes, cohesion takes a hit. But we have to take risks and give new players a chance,” stressed Walid Regragui.
Youssef Belammari gives satisfaction to Walid Regragui
The first steps of the left back of Raja de Casablanca, Youssef Belammariin the national team were satisfactory for the national coach, Walid Regragui. Author of an assist for the Atlas Lions’ second goal, Belammari contributed constructively to the team’s efforts against the Central African Republic. “I included Youssef Belammari in the eleven against Central Africa, because he showed a lot of perseverance during training over the past week. He is an intelligent player who gave a good performance during this match, something which does not surprise me about him,” assured the former FUS coach.
