Friday 06 September 2024

On CNN, Walid Regragui Highlights Atlas Lions’ Ambitions at Africa Cup of Nations

Washington – Morocco’s national football team head coach, Walid Regragui, highlighted, in an interview broadcast by CNN, the ambitions of the Atlas Lions at the Africa Cup of Nations, noting that the team will do its best to win the tournament.

Winning the Africa Cup of Nations “is very hard” but the players “will do their best” to claim the title and make the Moroccan people happy again, said the head coach of Morocco, which according to the US news channel is now part of the “elite” of world football after the historic performance achieved at the last World Cup.

“More than a year after a fairytale performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, all eyes are still on Morocco’s national football team and its head coach Walid Regragui,” CNN pointed out.

“And to up the stakes even more, they are one of the favorites to win this latest edition of the Africa Cup of Nations,” CNN added during this interview carried out at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Salé.

According to Regragui, Morocco has “important goals” during this CAN. “In this training center [Mohammed VI Football Complex] there is a photograph of the national team which were the last winners of the African Cup in 1976. Every day when the players come here, they look at the photo and get inspired. My goal as a coach is not to remove this photo but it is to put a new photo of the next winners here,” Morocco’s head coach stressed.

The Atlas Lions head coach, who noted that Morocco must regularly qualify for the World Cup, did not rule out the possibility that an African team would win the trophy one day.

Regarding his personal achievements, Africa’s “Coach of the Year” said that “these are not things I’m very interested in”. “What interests me most is my team,” he underlined.

“Today many individual trophies are awarded, either CAF, Ballon d’Or or FIFA Awards. It is nice to see Africans like myself at these awards, because it enhances the continent, and most of all, it enhances the Moroccan football landscape,” Regragui said.

On Tuesday, Morocco will take on South Africa in the round of 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations.

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Morocco’s beach soccer team won the Casablanca Cup on Sunday, beating France 5-4 in the third and final day’s match.

Morocco’s goals were scored by Amine Bidouri, Oudnane Oubehri, Mohamed Ghenam, Badr Krichli and Reda Zehraoui.

The Nationals won their first two matches against Belgium and Tanzania, earning a total of 9 points following their victory over France.

Morocco made history on Thursday by winning bronze in men’s football at the Paris Olympic Games with a 6-0 thrashing over Egypt, asserting itself as the major powerhouse in African football, writes the Spanish sports daily “AS.” 

With this “resounding victory,” the Moroccan football team has achieved a great feat, attaining its goal of winning an Olympic medal for the first time, the Spanish newspaper says in an article titled “Morocco Becomes an African Football Giant.”

With this, the Moroccan team confirms that it is “going through a great moment, thanks to a very solid project that yielded good results,” the same source adds.

Recalling the remarkable feat of the Atlas Lions at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they ranked fourth, AS notes that two years later, Morocco has won the bronze medal after an impressive tournament where they demonstrated their potential from the very start by defeating Argentina.

“In the bronze medal match on Thursday, the Moroccan team dominated Egypt, confirming that Moroccan football is experiencing its historic moment,” the article highlights.

Morocco’s football team won the bronze medal in the men’s football tournament of the Paris-Olympics 2024 on Thursday 08 August, thrashing Egypt 6-0 in placement match in Nantes.

Moroccan goals were scored by Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (23′), Soufiane Rahimi, who scored twice (26′, 64′), Bilal El Khannouss (51′), Akram Nakach (73′) and Achraf Hakimi (87′).

Owing to this victory, Morocco has secured two medals at the Paris Olympics, following Soufiane El Bakkali’s gold in the 3,000 steeplechase on Wednesday.

This is Morocco’s first Olympic medal in football, joining athletics and boxing as sports having secured Olympic medals for the Kingdom.

MAP: 08 August 2024

Morocco was eliminated in the semi-final of the men’s football tournament at the Paris-2024 Olympic Games by Spain (1-2), Monday 05 August at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille.

Soufiane Rahimi converted a penalty to give the Atlas Lions the lead in the 36th minute. Fermin Lopez scored the equalizer in the 66th minute, before Juanlu Sanchez scored the second goal in the 85th minute.

Morocco will play for Bronze, Thursday, against France or Egypt.

MAP: 05 August 2024

Morocco’s U23 football team qualified for the semi-finals of the men’s Olympic Games (Paris-2024) after beating the United States 4-0 on Friday 02 August at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris.

Soufiane Rahimi scored for the Atlas Cubs in the 28th minute, converting a penalty he had won himself. Ilias Akhomach doubled the lead in the 63rd minute, before Achraf Hakimi scored the third seven minutes later.

El Mehdi Maouhoub (90th+1st) quadrupled the score with a penalty awarded by the match referee after consulting VAR.

Morocco will face, Monday 05 August in the semi-finals, the winner of the clash between Spain and Japan.

MAP: 02 August 2024

The Moroccan U23 football team qualified for the quarter-finals of the men’s tournament at the Paris-2024 Olympic Games, following a convincing 3-0 victory over Iraq, on Tuesday 30 July at the Nice Stadium, on the third and final day of Group B.

The Atlas Cubs’ goals were scored by Amir Richardson (19’), Sofiane Rahimi (28’) and Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (36’).

Following this victory, Morocco top their group with 6 points, ahead of Argentina that beat Ukraine 2-0, on goal-average.

Morocco will face, in the quarter-finals scheduled for next Friday, the runner-up from Group A, which includes France, Guinea, the United States and New Zealand.

MAP: 30 July 2024