Regragui: "I Hope to Triumph in the Strongest Africa Cup of Nations Edition"
Walid Regragui, head coach of the Moroccan national team, defended his description of the current Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) edition as the strongest in the competition's history. He affirmed that his statement was not a pre-emptive justification but rather based on realistic data concerning the quality of the teams, players, and organizational conditions.
During the pre-semi-final press conference ahead of the match against Nigeria, Regragui stated: "I was criticized when I said this is the strongest AFCON. They thought I wanted to protect myself, that if I failed, I would say it was the strongest edition, and if I won, I would say I won the strongest edition. Therefore, I hope to win the strongest edition of the Africa Cup of Nations."
The national coach reiterated his conviction regarding the quality of this edition, pointing to the presence of all elements of excellence. He said: "Yes, it is the strongest edition. There are beautiful stadiums, the atmosphere is great, and the semi-finals feature five Ballon d'Or winners: Hakimi, Salah, Lookman, Osimhen, and Mané. Therefore, we have the best African players of recent years and the best teams."
Regragui further added: "Nigeria has reached the semi-finals 17 times, Egypt is always present, and Senegal has been one of the best teams, or perhaps the best, in recent years. We, in the last five years, have been working to be among Africa's leaders."
On a technical level, the national coach compared the current conditions with those of the previous edition, explaining: "Speaking of technical matters, in the last AFCON, we played against DR Congo at 13:30 in temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius and humidity levels of 80%. It is certainly difficult to win a match under such conditions, so it cannot be called a strong edition because, in this case, we are imposing difficult conditions on teams, preventing them from playing at their best."
Regragui concluded his remarks by emphasizing the importance of providing a fair competitive environment that allows for the display of the highest level of football, stating: "Today, we have provided conditions that help the best teams deliver their best performance, and I believe this will be a development for future African competitions."
It should be noted that the Moroccan national team will face Nigeria tomorrow, Wednesday, at 21:00 (GMT+1) in the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final, held at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the capital, Rabat.
