Walid Regragui Eyes AFCON Success Despite Cape Verde Draw

Rabat – In the aftermath of their goalless draw against Cape Verde on Monday, June 12, Moroccan national team head coach Walid Regragui expressed his optimism about the team’s progress leading up to the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Regragui acknowledged the challenges the team faced during the game and emphasized the importance of using the draw as an opportunity for the squad to evaluate their performance and make improvements before future matches.

“Our match today was undoubtedly difficult, and despite the changes we made, we struggled to find effective solutions,” said Regragui. He stressed that the draw against Cape Verde would allow the team to reflect on their shortcomings and address them in preparation for upcoming fixtures.

Analyzing the match, Regragui noted, “In my opinion, our attack lacked the necessary aggression. We lacked intensity and squandered possession.” The head coach called for a higher level of performance from the national players in the forthcoming matches.

“We have six months to analyze our game and make progress,” Regragui said, emphasizing the significance of reintegrating absent players to reinvigorate the squad. The match against Cape Verde allowed them to experiment with new players and tactics while helping achieve the team’s primary focus to be fully prepared for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Regragui acknowledged that the timing of the game, coming at the end of the season, affected the players’ physical fitness, particularly those playing in European leagues, such as Sofyan Amrabat and Achraf Hakimi.

“It was a tough game against Morocco, but we managed to handle it well against a team that performed admirably,” Pedro Brito, the coach of the Cape Verdean national team, said.

He praised Morocco’s team, citing their impressive World Cup performance and expressed pride in being able to compete against them. Brito explained that his tactical approach favored counter-attacks to unsettle the Moroccan defense.

“Morocco posed significant challenges, especially defensively, but they also revealed that we can be dangerous on the counter-attack,” Brito said. However, he lamented that his team could not convert their scoring opportunities into goals.

Looking ahead, Morocco is scheduled to face South Africa on June 17 in a decisive match that will determine qualification for the upcoming AFCON.

The Atlas Lions are highly motivated to bring the AFCON trophy home this year, with coach Walid Regragui pledging to resign immediately if the team fails to reach at least the semi-finals of the continental competition.