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Rabat – Moroccan footballer Hakim Ziyech has made a humble statement following his enormous efforts during the Morocco-Belgium match on Sunday.
Ziyech said in a press conference that he does not “deserve” the Man of the Match trophy, commending the collective effort from all teammates during the match against Belgium.
Morocco stunned Belgium with a 2-0 victory after outclassing the European giants throughout the game. Abdelhamid Sabiri opened the scoring for the Atlas Lions, while Zakaria Boukhlal strengthened Morocco’s lead in the second half’s added time.
Ziyech made a spectacular performance, with important assists that resulted in Morocco’s outstanding win against Belgium as part of the World Cup stage group.
“I don’t deserve this player of the match trophy. It’s a collective effort that we made. Everyone helped and backed me up, it’s a collective work,” he said.
Ziyech acknowledged that the match against Belgium was “easier” than the match against Croatia.
“The first match was more difficult for us to play. We couldn’t play our game, Croatia played a very good game. This one was perhaps easier for us, especially at the midfield level,” Ziyech said, stressing that Belgium may have made more mistakes than Croatia.
“We played a very strong, robust game, especially in the defense line,” he said.
After the 60 or 70 minutes, the players were all tired, Ziyech said, but Sabiri’s first goal gave the national team more power.
“The crowd helped us. They were behind us and I think that really boosted us,” Ziyech said, thanking Moroccan fans.
Thousands of Moroccan fans gathered at the stadium yesterday to cheer for the national team, singing football slogans and chants that gave the players a boost.
Fans are now hoping to see the Atlas Lions give a similar performance against Canada on December 1. Morocco is in Group F along with Croatia, Canada, and Belgium.
The national team faced off against Croatia in their opening game on November 23. They ended the match in a 0-0 draw.
