“I think both teams will be released. I expect a Morocco-Gabon match like that of the very open and offensive first leg”, declared Walid RegraguiThursday evening at Francevilleduring the pre-match press conference.
Congratulating the Gabonese selection for its qualification for the CAN 2025welcoming him to the CAN in Moroccothe national coach recalled that there are always difficult confrontations between the two teams. “We are very happy to be in Gabon and we know the friendship that binds our two peoples,” he said.
“No Gabonwho has always had very good players, has a real offensive style of play,” he said, adding that the Lions of the Atlas “will participate in a very good match and in very good conditions”.
According to Regragui, this confrontation will be different against a team which will be released and already qualified which will impact the style of play of the two selections. “The goal for us is to have a different challenge in every match. Every away match for any team in Africa is difficult, which is a good challenge for us,” he said. .
Concerning the physical state of certain players, the national coach said that “there are some problems with players who have been injured, but the bulk of our squad is present”. “we will wait until the last training to find out how the trip went for certain players and the last physical problems to know if they will participate, since we will play a second match next Monday”, explained the coach of the Lions of the Atlas.
For the national coach, the idea is to do a squad review without shaking up the team too much. “We have to have certainty in each match to progress together,” he noted, stressing that the new players who have joined the national team since the last CAN must adapt to the team.
He made it clear that the objective of Lions of the Atlas is to win this meeting and have a benchmark away match, noting that “it is a match between two great teams, two countries which appreciate each other”.
On the other hand, the national coach affirmed that the objective of Morocco during the qualifiers was to qualify, despite the fact that the Kingdom is already qualified as host country, specifying that the national team has short, medium and long term objectives.
The press conference was followed by a training session at the Franceville stadium open to the press for the first 15 minutes.
Morocco, leader of Group B with 12 points, faces Gabon on Friday at 8:00 p.m., before hosting Lesotho next Monday at the Oujda Stadium of Honor.
Gabon, which occupies second place with seven points, qualified for CAN 2025 before playing the fifth day of the qualifiers against Morocco, taking advantage of Lesotho’s victory over the Central African Republic (1-0).
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