Morocco Coach Regragui: France Was ’Worst Team’ in World Cup Semifinal

Walid Regragui reveals what he told his players at halftime of the match against France, where the Blues led 0-1. "At halftime, I told my players that it was the worst team since the start of the knockout matches," says the Moroccan coach. "Attention, I’m talking about this match, of course, not France in general, which is a great team!" he confides in an interview with L’Équipe. He will discuss the regrets expressed at the end of the match. These regrets boil down to the relatively lack of efficiency of the Moroccans against the Blues in the first half, due to the handicap of Nayef Aguerd’s absence and Romain Saïss’ exit after 20 minutes in the semi-final.

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The young Moroccan coach from Corbeil-Essonne left Qatar with a heavy heart. "The very high level, you always think you’re not far away but, in fact, you’re far away," he says. "The bar was a bit too high for us. Then, the third place against Croatia (1-2), with one day less recovery, players missing, it was complicated..."

Walid says he is nevertheless satisfied with the good team cohesion. "The greatest victory is also the life of the group," Regragui points out. And to add: "There, we were like brothers. We left last, on Tuesday, and there wasn’t a single argument in five weeks. It was magnificent. Like the support of our supporters or those of our entire continent." Morocco achieved historic and exceptional feats in Qatar by becoming the first African and Arab team to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup.