The national coach, Walid Regragui, affirmed that patience and perseverance made it possible to achieve the results achieved by the national selection, which signed a clear victory (7-0) against Lesotho, Monday evening in Oujda for the counting the 6th and final day of the qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations (CAN-2025).
“I would like to congratulate all the players who played in the qualifying campaign. Six wins in as many games is not easy, especially since we scored 26 goals,” Regragui said during the Morocco-Lesotho post-match press conference.
“After the last CAN in Ivory Coast, it was not easy for us. We accepted the criticism, put our heads down and continued working. I am very happy for my players,” he confided.
“The most important thing is the state of mind. The players respected Football and the opposing team. It was a great evening, especially for the supporters,” he continued, noting that the first half was better than the second, during which the players slowed down relatively.
The use of a set-piece specialist has borne fruit, he said, explaining that set-pieces are “a weapon that we can use in the future”. Despite this large score, the national coach did not hide his fears for the players’ inability to manage the highlights.
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“It’s mental. There is a relaxation, we must avoid technical errors and respect the game,” he observed, continuing that there is a lot of competition within the national team. “The players who remained on the bench also shone. The listing includes other items that are not present with us. The choice will be difficult but the competition is positive. I congratulate the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and the technical staff for the work done,” he added.
Brahim Diaz, author of a hat-trick against Lesotho, is a “natural leader”, commented Regragui, believing that the Real Madrid striker can easily find solutions. “Brahim can be more effective in the last thirty meters. He’s starting to grow with the team and understand our system,” he continued.
To hope to win the next CAN, analyzed the national coach, we must be “united” and “confident”, adding that for the next matches of the Atlas Lions in the World Cup qualifiers, “we hope to continue in the same way in order to to pocket our qualifying ticket early.” The Atlas Lions won against Lesotho thanks to a hat-trick from Brahim Diaz (5th, 15th, 42nd), a double from Sofiane Rahimi (37th, 45+2nd sp) and achievements from Youssef En-Nesyri (68th ) and Ismael Saibari (70th).
Thanks to this victory, the national team finished at the top of its group with 18 points obtained in 6 victories, ahead of Gabon (10 pts), already qualified for the next CAN and which won this evening against the Central African Republic ( 1-0).
IDM with MAP
