Morocco coach Mohamed Wahbi highlights squad depth after Lesotho win

Morocco coach Mohamed Wahbi says his side’s 2-0 victory over Lesotho was valuable not only because it secured three points, but also because it allowed several players to gain more playing time.

The result at the Free State Stadium in South Africa kept Morocco top of Group A in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying competition. They have six points from two matches, have kept two clean sheets and scored four goals, with two in each game.

“The importance of the victory is not limited to collecting the three points,” Wahbi said at his post-match news conference.

“It was also an opportunity to give a number of players additional minutes. That helps the technical staff broaden their options and continue developing the squad in the next phase.”

Morocco took the lead shortly before half-time when Brahim Diaz scored in the 45th minute, sending the Atlas Lions into the break 1-0 ahead.

Their second goal came in the 82nd minute. A cross from Sofiane Rahimi was converted by Azzedine Ounahi to complete the scoring.

Wahbi said the team was progressing, although he acknowledged there was still work to do before the next round of fixtures.

“Morocco are moving in an upward direction,” he added. “A number of positive points have emerged over the two matches, alongside other aspects that require work and correction before the upcoming commitments.”

The coach said the next phase would provide further opportunities to improve the team’s understanding and performance.

“We will play two matches against Niger in the qualifiers before facing Gabon,” he said. “These games will represent a new stage for the group to continue working and raise the level of cohesion and performance.”

Morocco opened their qualifying campaign with a 2-0 home victory against Gabon and followed that with another two-goal win against Lesotho.

Wahbi stressed that maintaining focus would be essential as the campaign continued.

“It is important to maintain concentration and seriousness,” he said. “Collecting six points at the start of the campaign gives the Moroccan national team an important boost to continue the qualifiers with greater confidence, without overlooking the need to improve our performance and address the shortcomings that appeared in the previous matches.”

Lesotho remain without a victory after two matches. They lost 2-1 to Niger in the opening round before suffering defeat by the same opponents Morocco overcame in their second fixture.