Regragui also insisted making the World Cup semifinal is not enough, saying the Moroccan team is ‘hungry’ enough to go all the way
By Kehinde Okeowo
Morocco coach, Walid Regragui on Tuesday insisted his team is good enough to get to the final of this year’s World Cup, arguing reaching the World Cup semifinal was not enough for his history-making side.
Regragui, who once played for French club, Toulouse, also said he hopes to cause an “upset” in their match against reigning champions, France, on Wednesday night.
This is the first time an African team have made it to the semifinal of the World Cup in the 92-year history of the tournament, but the Moroccan tactician is not satisfied with just breaking record.
“We are playing the world champions with many world-class players and a very good coach,” Regragui told reporters, adding that he wanted to “get rid of the mentality” of remaining satisfied with just reaching a certain level in the tournament.
“We will show great desire and try to pull off an upset. Why not reach the final of the World Cup? We can dream, it doesn’t cost you anything to have dreams,” he added,
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The coach, who once played for the national team, said the team was still “hungry” for more success despite not being “favourites” to lift the trophy.
“I don’t know if it will be enough … I know we are not favourites but we are confident,” Regragui added. “We’re going to fight to move on, for the African nations, for the Arab world.”
Several key Atlas Lions players, including defender Roman Saisse, are injured and may miss the clash against Les Blues.
Getting to this stage, Morocco defeated top European teams such as Belgium, Spain and Portugal and conceded only an own goal so far in the tournament.
Prior to their stunning success in Qatar, the North African side reached the knockout stages only once in 1986, when it was eliminated in the round of 16 by Portugal.
The semifinal will be played at Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor at 8pm Nigerian time (19:00 GMT).
