He had set the semi-finals as the minimum objective in this competition.
“I failed, it's my failure, not that of the players,” declared Morocco coach Walid Regragui after Tuesday's elimination in San-Pédro against South Africa (2-0) in the round of 16. CAN final.
“I bear responsibility for this failure, I am not someone who hides, about my choices of play, my choices of players,” said the coach of the Atlas Lions, in place since 2022.
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🇲🇦🎙 Regragui: "I am of course responsible for this failure" #Interview #beINCAN2023 #MARAFS pic.twitter.com/mPr9Bju3NC
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Regragui did not discuss his future, although he had announced before the tournament that he would leave if he did not reach the last four of the CAN organized in Ivory Coast.
A logical objective for the first African nation to have reached the semi-finals of a World Cup at the end of 2022 in Qatar.
Morocco in search of a CAN coronation since 1976
“In the heat of the moment, there is no point in drawing conclusions,” said the coach on Tuesday evening at a press conference.
Whether or not he remains at the head of the selection, “we will think about it,” he added, “we will make the best decision for Morocco.”
“But it's not the end of the world, we're not the only team, a lot of favorites (have been eliminated), we're going to come back stronger, even if we've been waiting for a long time,” he said. - he said, referring to Morocco's only victory in CAN, in 1976. "This team is building, there are a lot of young people, I am sure they will win the African Cup in the future, ins'Allah », concluded Regragui.
With the elimination of Morocco, none of the African selections entered in the 2022 World Cup remain in the competition.
And all the semi-finalists from the last edition have also been released.
The quarter-finals take place on Friday and Saturday, including a clash between the organizing country, Ivory Coast, and Mali.