Morocco-Portugal U17 (0-6): Nabil Baha takes responsibility for the rout

In his statement to the press, the coach pointed out the reasons for this collapse. He felt that his team "lacked intensity in the game and daring". The players, he specified, "were aware of the importance of this match" after the initial defeat against Japan. However, he noted a failure from the beginning: "From the first minutes of play, we failed to win a single duel".

The coach also emphasized an unusual lack of character in his group, recalling that the team "usually has more personality and asks for the ball to play good football", but that on Thursday, "many players did not have their imprint on the match". Nabil Baha did not want to blame only his young players, adding: "it is not only the fault of the players, I also have my share of responsibility as a coach".

One last match to "regain intensity"

Despite this heavy defeat, the coach is trying to rally his troops for the last match. "We will have to pull ourselves together for the last match", he insisted. He explained that it was now necessary to "talk to the players" and "explain the importance of the next match", believing that "we need to regain intensity in the game and the grinta to recover".

This defeat places Morocco in a very delicate situation in Group B. At the end of this second day, the Atlas Lions are last with zero points. Portugal leads the group with 6 points, followed by Japan (4 pts) and New Caledonia (1 pt), the latter two teams having neutralized each other (0-0). Morocco will face New Caledonia this Sunday for their last group match.