Regragui: Morocco Must Consistently Reach AFCON Final Stages

National coach Walid Regragui emphasized his desire for the prevailing mindset within the Moroccan national team to always be one of reaching the final stages of the Africa Cup of Nations and consistently competing for the title.

Speaking today at the pre-AFCON final press conference, the Moroccan national team coach stated, “In any case, winning the title is the aspiration of an entire nation, but ultimately, this is just football. We will play in the Africa Cup final, and I hope it won't be the last in Morocco's history. This is how I see things; this is just the beginning.”

He added, “If we are to believe that this is just an opportunity given to us that we must not waste, otherwise we won't win it later, then that is not my way of thinking. Since my arrival, I have been trying to change the mentality. Morocco's goal is not just to play in the final, win it, be happy for 50 years, and say we won the AFCON. The goal is to return in two or four years, and if we don't win it tomorrow, we must try to win the next edition and always be present in the final stages.”

He concluded, “The goal for the biggest nations in football is consistency. My goal is certainly to win the title tomorrow, make the fans happy, and end this negative streak, but it shouldn't stop there, whether we win it tomorrow or not. When you want to be a great national team, you must always think about the title. For example, if we win the cup tomorrow, we should start thinking about the third star the very next day.”

It is worth noting that Morocco will face Senegal tomorrow, Sunday, at 20:00 GMT+1, in the Africa Cup of Nations final. The match will be held at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the capital, Rabat.