Morocco Olympic Coach Sektioui Vows to Rebound After Ukraine Defeat

"I feel a great disappointment after the defeat we suffered and which we do not deserve after the high level we showed in the second half," Sektiouti said at the post-match press conference against Ukraine on Saturday.

And to add: "We created many scoring opportunities, but we lacked the finishing touch, so we will turn the page on this match and start thinking seriously about the next match against Iraq, where we will go to Nice." The match against Iraq is "crucial for us in order to make this great Moroccan crowd who supports us during our matches happy," continued the coach of the Moroccan Olympic team.

After a precious victory over Argentina (2-1) last Tuesday, Achraf Hakimi and his teammates stumbled on Saturday against a tough Ukrainian team who opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. Soufiane Rahimi’s equalizing goal on a penalty in the 64th minute did not allow Sektiouti’s men to prevail, despite the numerical inferiority of the opposing team, conceding a second goal in the 8th minute of added time.

With this defeat, Morocco finds itself in a delicate situation. It has three points, like Ukraine, Argentina and Iraq. The Atlas Lions must absolutely win the match against Iraq next Tuesday in Nice to secure their ticket for the round of 16 of the Olympic tournament.