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World Cup 2022: a collective effort that paid off for Morocco against the Belgians
Achraf Hakimi (left) and Sofyan Amrabat (centre) celebrate the first goal scored against Belgium by Abdelhamid Sabiri (right).
AP - Christophe Ena
Text by: Farid Achache Follow
2 mins
On the eve of facing the Red Devils, Walid Regragui, the Moroccan coach was convinced that Belgium would go up a notch.
Finally, the Atlas Lions won a victory that could be described as historic, Sunday, November 27 (2-0).
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From our special envoy to Qatar,
"
They have a fantastic coach (Roberto Martinez), world-class players like (Kevin) De Bruyne, (Eden) Hazard or (Axel) Witsel, and look at the bench they have with (Michy) Batshuayi or (Romelu) Lukaku
,” said Walid Regragui, Morocco coach.
Except that the Red Devils, despite possession of the ball to their advantage in the first period, never managed to get their hands on the accelerator to win.
Morocco took advantage
of this not sharp enough Belgian attack.
“
Ziyech is amazing!
»
Against the Belgians, Hakim Ziyech, elected man of the match, showed himself in a great and decisive day.
“
We were strong in defense and waited for their mistakes.
We deserve our victory
,” he said.
“
I don't know if I deserve the man of the match trophy, but it's a collective effort that we made today.
After the first goal, the public helped us and that really boosted us.
The first game was more difficult
.
We couldn't play our game to rush this Croatian team.
Belgium made more mistakes than Croatia
, ”adds Hakim Ziyech, cold with the selection before the departure of Vahid Halilhodzic.
“
Ziyech is amazing!
It is said to be difficult to manage.
But if given love, he can die in the field.
I am happy to have him back in the team.
He is a star in Morocco
”, comments Walid Regragui.
حكيم زياش رجل المقابلة ما بين المنتخب الوطني و المنتخب البلجيكي
Ladies & Gentlemen our Wizard Hakim Ziyech 🧙♂️ is the man of the match between Morocco and Belgium 👏#DimaMaghrib 🇲🇦 #TeamMorocco #FIFAWorldCup @pumafootball pic.twitter.com/CWIZMD7yDl
— Morocco team (@EnMaroc) November 27, 2022
The round back in the first period
The Moroccan players communed for quite a long time with the supporters for this victory which will remain in the history of Moroccan football.
“
Yes, this public supported us and we had to do well.
We know they are still there
, ”reacts defender Nayef Aguerd.
“
We played this match at 100%.
We hunkered down in the first half, they suffocated us and we cut passing lines while we waited.
We came back in the second half with more intentions.
After the first goal, we defended to keep this score and finally, we scored a second time
, ”explains coach Walid Regragui.
“
We lost a lot of balls and we will have to settle that.
We came to go to the round of 16 and it's not done.
There is still a long way to go.
Yes, there was a lot of pressure on us, but the players wanted to make the stadium crowd proud
,” adds Regragui, who admits he was delighted when the first goal was disallowed.
“
It forced us to be better afterwards.
»
"
My congratulations to the Moroccan team
", concludes Eden Hazard, disappointed with the performance of the Red Devils.
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