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Rabat – Morocco’s national team is set to depart for Gabon this afternoon, flying directly from Rabat-Sale International Airport on a Royal Air Maroc private jet. The five-hour journey will bring them to Franceville, where they’ll face Gabon in the fifth round of African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
After touching down, the players will go through a light training session to ease travel fatigue. On Thursday, they’ll complete their final preparations with a training session at the match stadium, to get ready for Friday’s showdown.
National coach Walid Regragui has planned a last training session on Wednesday morning to put final touches on the team’s plan before heading to Gabon. Yesterday, the team’s practice session was open to the media, giving fans a glimpse into the preparations.
Regragui also held a press conference, addressing key topics, including controversy surrounding Hakim Ziyech’s absence, and around the team’s performance and goals for the crucial upcoming match away from home.
On the topic of the decision regarding Ziyech, Regragui explained that his lack of competitive play in recent months was the primary reason for his exclusion. “I think he must quickly regain his form to return to the national team. There is no controversy regarding his non-call-up. There is no problem with him,” the coach added.
Earlier reports describe the pitch in Gabon’s Franceville Stadium as poor and damaged. This will prove challenging for the Atlas Lions and should force Regragui to tweak his gameplan to suit the field conditions in order to avoid injuries and clinch an away victory with minimum damage.
Meanwhile, Gabon’s Serge Martinson Ngouali will be out for the AFCON qualifier against Morocco. The Leopards will be missing their key midfielder due to a thigh injury, and is expected to be out for at least six weeks, as confirmed by the Gabonese Football Federation.
Gabon coach Thierry Mouyouma’s squad started their preparations on Tuesday with the arrival of all called-up players.
The match is set to kick off on Friday at 8 p.m. Moroccan time at Stade de Franceville.
