Walid Regragui, the Moroccan national team coach, stated that Morocco could have achieved a better result than a draw against the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday during the second round of the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations.
In a post-match press conference, Regragui explained that several factors affected the players’ performance, especially the high temperature and the match’s timing.
He emphasized that he doesn’t use this as an excuse but merely wants to highlight that the group struggled physically due to the hot weather.
Captain of the Atlas Lions remarked that after scoring the first goal for the Moroccan team, they failed to control the game.
There was occasional haste, and the pace of the match wasn’t regulated as planned.
He highlighted that “the team’s performance was average in this encounter, but the crucial aspect is that we did not lose and secured the draw that ensures qualification.”
Regragui continued, saying, “I take responsibility for the current result; we were not at our best.
We hope to overcome this quickly before the next match on Wednesday.
I also congratulate Congo on the point they took from us.
I learned that we won’t play again at two o’clock, which is good news because it was very challenging for the players, affecting everyone, even the substitutes who didn’t deliver what I expected from them.”
In conclusion, Regragui stated, “We could have achieved a better result, and the draw is not bad for me.
There are no easy matches in African competitions, and attention and focus are required throughout the game.
What matters to me now is qualification, and we look forward to finishing the group as leaders before moving on to a very challenging stage in the knockout rounds.”
