Morocco Coach Halilhodzic Wary of Guinea-Bissau Threat in World Cup Qualifier

In a press conference on October 5th, Vahid Halilhodzic, coach of the Atlas Lions, spoke about the match against Guinea Bissau, counting for the 3rd round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. He considers the Lycaons to be serious opponents. Proof of this, they defeated Sudan at home 4-2 and are at the top of Group I.

"We are perhaps facing the best team in our group. We have observed and analyzed their individual qualities a lot. It is a good team that shows combativeness and has many internationals in Portugal and France. Guinea-Bissau has individuals who can hurt us on the counter-attack," said the Franco-Bosnian coach.

He then focused on the case of Youssef En-Nesyri, regretting the absence of the injured player retained by his club, FC Seville, despite his call-up and the express request sent for the club to allow the national team’s medical staff to examine the player to see the severity of his injury. "He is the strong point of our attack, but we have to deal with it. Other players are in good form like Ryan Mmaee, Ayoub El Kaabi and Ilias Chair. They are in good shape and we have to count on them," he added.

He also believes that it will not be easy for the Atlas Lions to play three matches of crucial importance in one week, but he remains confident that the players will be able to pull through. "It’s hard 3 matches, psychologically. That’s why I opted for an expanded list. And then the atmosphere is not bad and I remain very optimistic. It’s good for the winning culture that we have to install."