Will it be the end of Morocco’s fairy tale or the dream extension? The Moroccan team will face France today (7pm, TVI), in a match worthy of a place in Sunday’s final, in a showdown between the league’s surprise team and the mighty reigning world champion. It will also be a duel of styles: on the one hand a defensive wall that is difficult to break through (Spain and Portugal say so), on the other hand a typical selection of a European power, with great individual values and which favors the attack.
Walid Regragui, the coach who makes history (Morocco is the first African team in history to be present in the semi-finals of a World Cup), dismissed criticism on Tuesday about his team’s way of playing.
“I know that Europeans are very critical of our style of play. But we will continue to play as we know. I don’t understand why they talk so much about the possession issue. Having 70% possession and then shooting twice on goal… think about asking Infantino [presidente da FIFA] that gives a point to the teams that have more than 60% possession. We’re here to win, not to own the ball. There is a lot of talk about tiki-taka, but you can only do that if you have players to perform it. If I had Bernardo Silva and De Bruyne…”, he shot.
Regragui knows well what awaits him tonight. But keep dreaming. “We are going to compete against the selection of the world champions. But we believe that we can continue and win the World Cup. We are not tired, we are going to run a lot,” he referred, recalling that the dream extends beyond Morocco : “We are here to change the mentality of our continent and we did not come here by chance. We will fight to move forward, for African countries and for the Arab world. We want to hold the name of Africa in the highest regard. “
Today’s match will feature a special duel, a head-to-head between Kylian Mbappé and Achraf Hakimi, friends and teammates at PSG: “Mbappé? If anyone knows him well, it’s Hakimi. But he won’t get special attention anymore , because France is not just Mbappé and Griezmann. Dembelé, for example, is the perfect complement to Mbappé. But it will be an intense duel between Hakimi and Mbappé. We must abolish him, but not only him.”
Didier Deschamps, the French coach, rejected the idea that Morocco’s only strong point is defense (they only conceded one goal this World Cup and that was an own goal). “We will try to find a solution. Morocco has the ability to defend well, but it’s not just about the defensive aspect. They have a very good organization, very rational and where the players are easy to find. They also have quality footballers in the attacking sector are capable of causing damage,” warned the French coach.
The French coach knows he will find an unfavorable environment today, with thousands of Moroccans and Arab fans in Qatar advancing for the Africans. But he guarantees that the team is prepared. “I don’t like the term hostile, because it sounds negative. But they have a lot of support, they are very loud, and we talked about that. But that’s not what makes goals. It’s good to know what you is doing.” against and it is clear that the environment will be very noisy. But when we prepare a game, we also prepare for the environment we are about to find.
Source: DN
