Morocco’s national coach Walid Regragui said that patience and perseverance helped the national team achieve results, clinching an outstanding win against Lesotho (7-0) on Monday evening in Oujda for the 6th and final matchday of the African Cup of Nations 2025 qualifiers.
“I’d like to congratulate all players. Six wins in as many games is not easy, especially as we scored 26 goals,” Regragui stated at Morocco/Lesotho post-match press conference.
“After the last AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire, it wasn’t easy for us. We accepted the criticism, put our heads down and kept working. I’m very glad for my players,” he voiced.
“Mindset is essential. The players respected soccer and the opposing team. It was a great evening, especially for the fans,” he continued, noting that the first half was better played than the second, where the team’s pace relatively dropped .
The use of a set-piece specialist helped tremendously, he added, explaining that set-pieces are “weapons to be used in the future”.
Despite the large scoreline, the national coach made no secret of his concerns about the players’ inability to manage the game’s highs.
“It’s mindset. We need to avoid technical errors and respect the game”, he enthused, adding that there is a lot of competition within the national team.
“Bench players excelled as well, and the list includes others not present today. The choice will be difficult, but the competition is positive. I congratulate the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and the technical staff for their work,” he added.
Brahim Diaz, scorer of a hat-trick against Lesotho, is a “natural leader”, commented Regragui, believing that the Real Madrid striker can easily find solutions.
“Brahim can be more effective in the last thirty meters. He’s starting to grow with the team and understand our system,” he continued.
To hope for the next AFCON trophy, the head coach explained, we need to be “united” and “confident”, “hoping to follow suit in the next World Cup qualifiers and earn an early qualification”.
The Atlas Lions beat Lesotho thanks to a hat-trick from Brahim Diaz (5′, 15′, 42′), two goals by Sofiane Rahimi (37′, 45’+2 penalty) as well as Youssef En-Nesyri (68′) and Ismael Saibari (70′).
With this win, the national team finishes top of its group with 18 points from 6 wins, ahead of Gabon (10 pts), who already qualified for the next AFCON and defeated this evening the Central African Republic (1-0).
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