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Rabat – Morocco’s futsal team concluded the group stage of the 2024 World Cup in Uzbekistan with a second-place finish in Group E, following a 4-1 defeat to defending champions Portugal in Tashkent today.
The team will continue their campaign in a round of 16 match in Bukhara next Thursday, facing Iran, who secured the top spot in Group F by defeating France 4-1 in today’s match. This victory sets up an exciting clash with Morocco’s Atlas Lions.
During today’s match, the Atlas Lions struggled against Portugal’s solid defensive organization, which stifled their offensive efforts.
The Atlas Lions’ opponent struck first with a goal from Erick Mendonça just two minutes in, followed by Bruno Coelho scoring a penalty in the 19th minute, leaving Morocco trailing at halftime.
The situation worsened when Coelho scored again in the 22nd minute. Morocco finally found the net in the 33rd minute with a goal from Soufiane El Mesrar after a well-executed play.
Unfortunately, their risk-taking allowed Portugal to counter effectively, with Zicky sealing the match at 4-1 in the 39th minute.
In his post-match analysis, Morocco’s futsal coach Hicham Dguig remarked that the training disparities with the Portuguese team significantly influenced his team’s defeat.
“The match was highly intense, given the gaps with Portugal, whose players are trained in futsal from a young age, while we work directly with seniors,” he explained.
The coach also pointed out to the gap in experience, recalling, “ the futsal World Cup started 40 years ago. We are already at the tenth edition. Morocco only began participating in the World Cup in 2012.”
Additionally, he spoke about the numerical imbalance in player availability, saying, “after the injury of Ismail Amazal, we were missing two players from the official list.”
