Morocco coach Walid Regragui stressed the difficulty of Wednesday’s match against France in the semi-final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup now taking place in Qatar, but at the same time emphasized that his team has the opportunity and that he will do everything possible to reach the final.
We have to face the defending champion, it is a team of great players and a great coach (Didier Deschamps), but we have big ambitions and we will try to create opportunities for ourselves, why not reach the final? World Cup?
Answering questions about injuries among the Moroccan national team, Rekraghi said: “As everyone knows, we have a lot of injuries, but we recover quickly, we have excellent medical equipment, and every day we see positive developments and good news. He added: “We are waiting until the last moment before deciding to bring in players as it is possible that all players are ready and we are working to include players who are in the best shape and fitness.
Many believe that the Moroccan team has already achieved success, regardless of the fact that the Golden Square match is held, and many believe that the national team does not stop there and will fight for reaching the final. Regragi said on this occasion: This is what we want to change in the mentality when we started this mission, we had to change the mentality in our continent and this is what I told the players, seeing that we should be happy to reach the semi-finals . -only finals and no matter what happens, we have succeeded in the World Cup, this is the mentality that we do not need. He continued: “We are here to win matches. I have seen criticism from the European press because of our style of play. They are concerned that an African team is in the semi-finals.” He added: “Now we are in the top four teams in the world, we did not get here by chance and we should try to reach the final, and this is our mentality now. He continued: We can hope that the opponent will not be able to judge our strength like the other teams have done, but if we have a lot of respect for the opponent, things will be more difficult, but our self-confidence is good, and every time we are expected to come out, but we are still present.
On the relationship between Moroccan defensive star Ashraf Hakimi and French offensive star Killian Mbappé, his Paris Saint-Germain teammate, and whether there is a particular plan for the upcoming showdown between the two, Rekraghi said: Mbappe is a player Hakimi knows more than me. as he trains with him at Paris Saint-Germain and has a clear idea about him. Regragi added: “No, we will not make an exceptional plan, because there is not only Mbappe, there is Antoine Griezmann, who is at a very high level, and Osman Dembele. There is danger in all positions and we have to play collectively.” Ashraf Hakimi is one of the best players in his position and there will be a fight between the two players, Hakimi is a hero and will not give Mbappe any gifts. He continued: The focus is not only on Kylian but the French team as a whole and we have to focus on the problems that we can create and of course we have to take care of Mbappe and I have no doubt that Ashraf Hakimi will do everything in his power for the success of the team.
When asked about the main factor on which the confrontation will depend, Regragi said: “Team spirit is important for us. All players work for the team and do their best.” We work as a team in every game we play, that’s our spirit and for me it’s the most important thing in football and with heart and determination we can succeed. Significantly, Morocco became the first Arab and African team to reach the semi-finals in World Cup finals history, after beating Portugal 1-0 in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar. last Saturday.
