Morocco’s Historic World Cup Run Ends in Semi-Final Loss to France

"We gave our maximum, and that’s the most important thing. We had a few injuries, it was a bit too much for us. But I have nothing to say because the substitutes gave their all. We went all the way. Then, against a team like France, every mistake is paid for dearly... We didn’t start the game well, with a lot of technical waste in the first half, we couldn’t make it to the final like that," admits Walid Regragui, visibly disappointed by this defeat when Morocco was so close to the goal.

Despite the frustration, the national team coach congratulates his players for the run and for making Morocco, but also all of Africa, dream. "Bravo to my players, the elimination doesn’t take away from everything they’ve done here," reports BEIN Sports. Walid Regragui took the opportunity to apologize on behalf of the entire team to the Moroccan people who remained supportive until the end. "We could have scored, but unfortunately the goal didn’t come. May the Moroccans forgive us! We wanted to go to the final, but next time if God wills it."

He promised to make sure that at least Morocco takes a place on the podium in third place, even if it is not a foregone conclusion. "We will be careful, because we have a lot of injured players. Now we won’t think about this match, we will rest and I will say bravo to the boys. That’s what matters to me."

For his part, Yassine Bounou describes "a great match" played by his teammates, but which did not give the expected result. "We still have one more match that we have to approach with the same seriousness that we have shown in the previous matches."