Achraf Hakimi Sets Sights on AFCON Glory for Morocco After World Cup Success

"We have a good team, a good group and we will do our best to win," promised Achraf Hakimi after the full draw for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN 2023) groups in which he participated in Abidjan. The Moroccan right-back will add: "We will try to do our best during this CAN, as we did during the World Cup." Morocco reached the semi-finals of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, becoming the first African and Arab country to reach the semi-finals after beating major football nations like Belgium, Spain and Portugal.

After the draw, Morocco was drawn into Group F. The Atlas Lions will challenge the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), whom they had eliminated in the World Cup qualifiers, and will also face Zambia and Tanzania. This Group F seems accessible but, Hakimi knows that heavyweight contenders like Senegal and Egypt represent major obstacles if Morocco wants to win its second African title. The Moroccan team won its first title at the 1976 edition held in Ethiopia.

The 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) will take place from January 13 to February 11, 2024 in Côte d’Ivoire in six stadiums and five cities: Abidjan (Ebimpé and Abidjan-Plateau), Bouaké, Korhogo, San-Pédro and Yamoussoukro. CAN 2023 is the third consecutive competition to feature an expanded format of 24 teams after the recent editions in Cameroon and Egypt.