Reynald Pedros, the head coach of Morocco’s female national football team, has expressed his satisfaction with his players’ 2023 World Cup legacy and attitude despite their defeat to France earlier today in the tournament’s round of 16.
“I am extremely happy with what we did,” Pedros asserted during today’s post-match press conference, stressing that Atlas Lionesses fans should be proud of the team’s historic outings despite today’s 4-0 loss to France.
With his comments coming in the aftermath of Morocco’s round of 16 loss to the fifth-ranked French team, Pedros insisted that his players tried their best to show up against a French team they knew would be a tough-to-beat and talented group.
“We knew that it was going to be difficult… and we knew that we are playing a very competitive French team,” the coach added.
Even after going back to the changing room with a 3-0 loss between the halves, the Atlas Lionesses came back to the pitch in the second half with more determination to find the back of the French net which unfortunately did not happen. “We played a better second half.” Reynald Pedros said.
The coach explained that the team still needs some technical improvements, stressing: “We need to work more on our defensive line.”
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“We will get back to work,” the coach explained as the Lionesses will start working on the technical aspects that need to be improved while making use of this experience to participate in the Olympic Games qualifiers and the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations that will be hosted by Morocco.
Ghizlane Chebbak, the Moroccan team’s captain added that “we were not expecting this result, but we managed to honor women’s football in Morocco.”
“I want to thank everyone who supported us starting from his majesty King Mohammed VI who supported us since the first game,” Chebbak concluded.
The Moroccan team has managed to attain an unprecedented historical achievement by being the first North African country to qualify for the round of 16 in their first-ever appearance in the World Cup.
