Morocco Seeks Defensive Balance Against Lesotho in AFCON Qualifier

During a press conference held on Sunday in the conference room of the Agadir Grand Stadium, Walid Regragui discussed the final preparations for the match between Morocco and Lesotho, scheduled for this Monday, for the 2nd round of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN Morocco-2025) qualifiers. He is mainly counting on a good performance from his protégés. Acknowledging that the choices he had made during the match against Gabon had not helped the defense to perform well, he hinted that he would make some changes in Monday’s match, in order to test the preparation and cohesion of the players. Even if it means finding a good balance between offensive efficiency and defensive solidity. "Against Gabon, we were very offensive, we scored goals, but the defensive retreat was not so intense and fast," explained the technician. According to him, it is now necessary to tighten the spaces, be strong in the battle for the second ball and manage the runs of the two fullbacks.

"These qualifiers remain an opportunity to give young people a chance, to test new formulas, to ’make mistakes and correct them’, in order to be as efficient as possible during the CAN and in the qualifiers for the World Cup," said Regragui. In this sense, he could give Adam Aznou the opportunity to start the match against Lesotho or Ben Seghir. "Then there will be choices to be made to have more certainty," he said.

The match between Morocco and Lesotho, who lost their first match 3-1 against the Central African Republic in the second round of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN 2025) qualifiers, group B, will take place on Monday, September 9, at 8 p.m., on the pitch of the Adrar stadium in Agadir. This match can be followed live on the Arryadia channel (TNT). It will also be broadcast by beIN Sports HD.