Wahbi: 'Team Unaccustomed to High Pressing; Ecuador Match Revealed Areas for Development'
Morocco national team coach Mohamed Wahbi stated that the friendly match against Ecuador, which ended in a 1-1 draw, was an important experience due to the strength of the opposing team and their high level in the World Cup qualifiers, where they finished second ahead of Brazil, Uruguay, and Colombia.
The national coach said in the post-match press conference: "Those who follow international football know that Ecuador is a high-level team, and they demonstrated that in the World Cup qualifiers, finishing second ahead of Brazil, Uruguay, and Colombia. I was happy to play against a team like this. When we don't have much time to prepare, you cannot play easy matches, and a game like this shows us what we need to correct."
He added: "A high level requires playing with intensity and high pressing, and today we saw the Moroccan team pressing in the opponent's half, trying to win the ball back. This was important for trying out some things. Overall, I am satisfied with the performance, and it became clear to us that there is a lot to continue working on and developing to be better."
Wahbi continued: "Thank God that after this match, it became clear to me that there are things we need to work on, because if there was nothing to work on, I would ask myself what the purpose of my presence here is. This is my job and the job of the staff working with me; we know what we want, which is to perform well in the World Cup. Today, things emerged that we need to focus on."
He pointed out: "It's not about being the best, but about being more organized, and when we press, we do it correctly. Today, we applied high pressing in certain periods, and the team is not accustomed to this style, and certainly, we won't do it for the entire match. When we had possession, we weren't bad, because we have creative players, but this doesn't mean we shouldn't penetrate through the middle. Today, it became clear to us that we could have caused them a lot of trouble if we had played balls behind their defenders, but when we tried, the passes weren't good, and this comes through work and training."
It is worth noting that the Moroccan national team will face Paraguay next Tuesday (19:00 GMT+1) at the home stadium of French club Lens, in their second friendly match before the 2026 World Cup.
