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Rabat – After several months away from the spotlight following his departure as head coach of the Morocco national team, Walid Regragui made his media comeback. Rather than addressing the controversies surrounding his exit, the 50-year-old coach appeared on the Spanish-language YouTube channel of Coaches’ Voice, a reference platform for football coaches.
In the episode, he revisited Morocco’s historic victory over Portugal in the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, breaking down the tactical choices that made the achievement possible.
Among football’s tactical elite
Coaches’ Voice is a US-based media platform best known for its YouTube channel, where some of football’s biggest managers explain tactics and analyze their own matches. Several legendary coaches have already appeared on the channel, including Portuguese icon José Mourinho and Atlético Madrid head coach Diego Simeone.
Today, the English-language channel has more than 400,000 subscribers, while its Spanish version, Coaches’ Voice en Español, has attracted over 100,000. It is on this Spanish-language channel that Regragui’s masterclass was published. Having spent three seasons in Spain with Racing Santander between 2004 and 2007, the former Morocco international speaks fluent Spanish.
The video also marks one of the first times Regragui has spoken in depth about his tactical philosophy outside a press conference, offering a rare insight into the thinking behind one of the greatest victories in Moroccan football history.
The anatomy of an upset
Almost four years later, every Moroccan football fan still remembers that unforgettable night. Morocco’s 1-0 victory over Portugal in the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha marked a turning point, not only for Moroccan football but for the entire African continent.
Fernando Santos’ Portugal entered the match as clear favorites, while Morocco were playing in their first-ever World Cup quarter-final. Yet Regragui’s men produced one of the greatest upsets in the tournament’s history.
Using a blackboard, Regragui breaks down the match in the video through several tactical themes: Morocco’s attacking plan in a 4-1-4-1 formation, the defensive organization built around a compact block, the moments chosen to press high, the tactical adjustments made after Youssef En-Nesyri’s winning goal, and the resilience shown in the closing stages, particularly after Walid Cheddira’s red card.
A legacy beyond the result
As one of the greatest moments in Moroccan football history and the first time an African nation reached the FIFA World Cup semi-finals, this victory will forever remain a landmark. Regragui’s masterclass shows that the achievement was not only driven by emotion, but also by meticulous tactical preparation and collective execution.
Beyond revisiting a historic match, the video offers a deeper understanding of Walid Regragui’s football philosophy, built on collective discipline, tactical adaptability, and unwavering trust in his players.
