Best African nation in the FIFA rankings (13th), semi-finalist of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Morocco has great ambitions at the start of this CAN 2024. The entry into the running of the Atlas Lions was at lived up to expectations with a great success against Tanzania last Wednesday (3-0).
They hope to confirm this good start to the competition this Sunday, against the Republic of Congo.
Supported by its Ligue 1 residents – an assist for Achraf Hakimi (PSG), a goal for Azzedine Ounahi (OM) – the Moroccan selection benefits from a squad full of quality.
Walid Regragui also praised the qualities of the Marseillais: “Ounahi is a talented player who can make the difference.
It is a technical strength.
He is a world-class player.
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✅ Morocco 🇲🇦 confirms its entry into this CAN by winning (3-0) against Tanzania 🇹🇿.
⚽️ Romain Saïss
⚽️ Azzedine Ounahi
⚽️ Youssef En-Nesyri pic.twitter.com/DNEC05zRbW
— Actu Foot Maghreb (@actufootmaghreb) January 17, 2024
Morocco, leader of its group, can already consider qualifying for the round of 16 in the event of success against the Congolese selection.
However, Walid Regragui preferred to tone it down at a press conference.
“Africa quickly reminds you of the truth if you get angry.
That's what I tell the players.
Beware of overconfidence,” said the technician.
He was also not completely convinced by the content of the match against Tanzania: “There was criticism, rightly so.
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“The favorites of the competition”
For its second match, Morocco will face an opponent of a higher caliber.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, held in check by Zambia on the first day (1-1), has certainties in the game. Nantais Samuel Moutoussamy mentioned these to AFP: “We have a game geared towards forward because we have certain offensive qualities.
We have players who know how to score goals, who know how to create chances.
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Among them, several players have attended the French championship, such as Cédric Bakambu, Gaël Kakuta or Yoane Wissa.
In office since the summer of 2022, Sébastien Desabre, the Congolese coach, is satisfied with the development of his team.
“The objective was to perform at CAN 2025 and to go to the 2026 World Cup. Today, it happened a little faster than expected.
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His team will face very high-level players on Sunday, “the favorites of the competition”, according to him.
For both the Moroccan and Congolese selections, this confrontation has everything of a test match, in a pivotal meeting for qualification to the round of 16.
The framework of the Moroccan team is similar to that of the epic during the 2022 World Cup. Yassine Bounou still occupies the goal, Nayef Aguerd and Romain Saïss (scorer against Tanzania) form the central hinge, Sofyan Amrabat rakes the middle on the pitch, Hakim Ziyech directs the play. Forward striker Youssef En-Nesyri also found the net during the first match.