Morocco head coach Walid Regragui is confident they can still win the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) despite failing to beat Mali in their second match at the tournament.
The host faced off with the Eagles on Friday night in their second Group A match of the tournament.
A first-half injury-time strike from Brahim Diaz gave Morocco the advantage at the break on the matchday, but Mali rallied from behind to equalise in the second half to force the contest to end in a 1-1 stalemate.
Speaking in his post-match interview, Walid Regragui bemoaned missed chances, insisting that Morocco should have killed off the game when they had the opportunity to.
With the tournament in its early stages, the coach believes Morocco can still emerge as champions.
“We played a good match, which was very intense. We needed to kill off the match while we had time. Congratulations to Mali for obtaining a point. We should not give up. Conceding a penalty is part of football and we should not despair. It is part of football,” Regragui said in his post-match as quoted by CAFOnline.
The Morocco coach added, “To win AFCON is a long journey. We have the certainty that we played well. Yes, we did not get the result we aimed for, but we did not lose either. We are confident and that is crucial for us going into the last group match.”
With four points from the first two matches, Morocco look set to advance to the knockout stage.
The Atlas Lions will look to beat Zambia in their last group game to top Group A.
