Morocco Aims to Maintain World Cup Form at Africa Cup of Nations

"When you reach a really high level, we know we have to maintain the course. [...] Of course, something has changed [in terms of expectations]. It will obviously be difficult to reach the semi-finals of every competition, but we have to maintain that level and help Moroccan football continue to grow," Saiss told BBC Afrique. Morocco became the first African country to reach the last four of a World Cup for the first time, after beating football powerhouses like Spain and Portugal in Qatar.

Placed in Group F, the Atlas Lions will take the field on Wednesday, January 17. They will challenge Tanzania at the Laurent Pokou stadium in San Pedro, before playing a new match against the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, January 21, still at the same stadium, and finally Zambia, the 2012 winner, on Wednesday, January 24. According to Saïss, Morocco is not the favorite. "From my point of view, we are not the favorites. I understand why people say that, but none of us [players] were born the last time Morocco won the tournament and our coach was playing when we last reached the final," he commented.

Since 1976, Morocco has desperately sought a second star. And the captain of the Atlas Lions is counting on the commitment of his teammates to go far in the next CAN. "We know that everyone is waiting for us and wants to beat us, but we can achieve something great," he observes. "No matter the opponent, it’s important for us to be focused on each game and not think about the next round." He will add: "We have to be ready to suffer because it’s going to be tough. At the World Cup, we went far because everyone sacrificed their body to reach the semi-finals."

However, he acknowledges that the tournament will be difficult. "I think Côte d’Ivoire will have pressure because they are playing at home. There are also a lot of dangerous teams with a lot of experience, like Senegal, Cameroon, Algeria and Egypt. You can see now in Africa that every game is difficult, anything can happen. It will be a tough competition and we have to be mentally ready to go as far as possible. I think it will be one of the [tournaments] most difficult in history."

Romain Saïss also counts on Walid Regragui, the national coach, and does not spare his praise for him. "He is not just friendly with the team leaders. From the youngest to the oldest, he is close to them all. He is like a big brother or an uncle and he gives you a lot of trust. He is really honest with the players and I think that is really hard to find in football." And to continue: "He always finds the right words to motivate the team and that creates something really important between the players and the staff. You know, everyone follows the same path, works hard. We are happy to fight on the field."