Morocco Coach Hopes Ronaldo Remains Benched for World Cup Quarterfinal Clash

In the pre-match press conference, the Moroccan coach spoke about the qualities of a team considered one of the favorites of the competition. "The Portuguese team has many high-quality players in its ranks. They have rotated their squad to maintain their physical freshness," he said.

In this sense, the Moroccan coach mentioned the presence in this team of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. The striker was a substitute in the round of 16 match against Switzerland (6-1). This Saturday, Regragui hopes the player will not be fielded. "As a coach, I prefer that Ronaldo does not participate in the match against Morocco. For me, he is one of the best players in history," he told reporters.

However, the Moroccan coach assured that his players are ready to create another surprise. "Portugal wants to make history, and the same for us. I think the stadium will be Moroccan and that will help us, and we are capable of creating the surprise and qualifying for the semi-finals. We have to stay positive, but the task will not be easy. We had an excellent performance against Spain and the challenge will be to repeat the same performance against Portugal," he concluded.