Morocco might not have reached the World Cup last however the gamers and supporters can take delight in the truth that they may depart Qatar having performed seven video games, a primary for any African nation, coach Walid Regragui mentioned on Friday.
Morocco’s dream run on the World Cup ended after they had been crushed by reigning champions France within the semi-finals however they nonetheless have the chance to go away Qatar on a excessive after they tackle Croatia within the third-place playoff on Saturday.
Regragui mentioned he wouldn’t make too many adjustments to the squad as that will upset the crew steadiness however admitted it was a troublesome and complex sport for 2 groups being requested to play after the frustration of shedding their semi-final matches.
“I understand it’s important to finish third rather than fourth, but my takeaway is we didn’t reach the final… We wanted to play the final on Sunday, not play tomorrow,” Regragui mentioned.
“But I told my players this is our seventh World Cup game. If you told any Morocco fan we would be playing our seventh game on Dec. 17, they would be proud.
“Morocco played six World Cup games in 20-odd years and now we’ve played six games in a month – this is priceless. It’s as if we played two World Cups or even more, that’s beautiful from an experience point of view.”
Regragui mentioned Croatia had been a formidable crew even when they’d not been favoured to repeat their 2018 run, after they completed runners-up in Russia. Their goals had been crushed by Lionel Messi’s Argentina within the semi-final.
“We knew Croatia were going to be one of the best teams in the competition. After the first game (where Morocco and Croatia drew 0-0 in the group stage) we knew the performance was very good,” Regragui mentioned.
“A lot of people said Croatia were approaching the end of their cycle and would have the rug swept out from under their feet. Croatia got stick for not beating ‘underdogs’ Morocco but both teams reached the semi-final.
“There was a lot of hesitation for the first game… Both teams will want to win it (on Saturday) and it will be a great game.”
The sport could possibly be Croatian midfielder Luka Modric’s final with the nationwide crew and Regragui praised the Real Madrid man who remains to be going sturdy at 37.
“I don’t know if it’s Modric’s last game, he’s a competitive warrior and will want to finish his World Cup in style. When he wants to finish on a great note, we should be wary,” Regragui mentioned.
“Hats off to Modric. What he’s doing at 37 is monumental. He was a Ballon d’Or winner and I completely understand why.”
