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After the historic group stage for the Morocco U20 team, the coach said the team’s focus is now on preparing steadily for the knockout phase.
In their final Group C match in Valparaíso, Morocco lost 1-0 to Mexico. The defeat didn’t affect their standing as they had already qualified. Mohamed Ouahbi admitted Mexico were better, “We tried (…) but we didn’t succeed. We must continue to improve until the Round of 16.”
The coach ruled out squad rotation as the reason for the loss, but rather small details in the game. “The Mexicans were better than us. The match was played on small details, the second ball and the duels, which they won more than us,” he said. He was also frustrated with a yellow card to Ali Maamar and only five minutes of stoppage time, but admitted, “That’s not the reason for our defeat.”
After winning their two opening matches against Brazil and Spain, Ouahbi described the defeat against Mexico as a reality check that will help his team moving forward. “This defeat allowed us to put our feet on the ground. This setback will serve us for the future,” he said.
Morocco had already impressed in the group stage with wins over Spain (2-0) and Brazil (2-1) and qualified before the last match. Despite losing to Mexico, they topped Group C with six points, ahead of Mexico on five, Spain on four and Brazil on one. In the other group match, Spain beat Brazil 1-0.
Looking ahead, Ouahbi stressed the need to stay calm and continue to improve. The team will go into the knockout stage with momentum and confidence and will build on the lessons from their last group game.
