Morocco Seeks Offensive Spark Against Congo in World Cup Qualifier

Walid Regragui was expected on Monday evening at the pre-match press conference. He was to respond to the criticisms against his players, especially at the level of the attack, the mistakes made by some key players, notably Saiss, and the off-field behavior of Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Nesyri.

"Defensively, I think we didn’t suffer too much. Except for the reduction in the score due to a misunderstanding and a header chance at the end of the game due to a marking error," the national coach said immediately.

"We will maintain the same intentions as those adopted against Zambia," promised the Moroccan coach. "We are aware that there will be an Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Morocco, with teams that will be ready to counter us effectively. That’s why we’ve focused our work on pressing and counter-pressing to disrupt our opponents’ ball exits."

For Walid Regragui, the team will have to respect its opponent. "Even if they’ve had recent problems, they’re still dangerous. The players have to keep their seriousness, especially since it’s the last game before the holidays," he added, pleased that the match is taking place in Agadir, in front of Moroccan supporters. "We would have had to take a 7 or 8 hour flight to get to Kinshasa and play the match on a synthetic pitch. We are therefore in ideal conditions."

The coach also addressed the behavior of certain players and, as usual, he defended them. "We can’t control the frustration of the players. It’s not a good image, but they accepted it. As a coach, I consider it a minor incident that was settled on the same evening of the match with Youssef En-Nesyri and Hakim Ziyech," recalling that, contrary to what the media say, the supporters remain behind the Atlas Lions. "I think the supporters have total confidence in the national team. Proof of this is that when we were leading 2-0, they left the stands to avoid traffic jams due to the works, while being convinced that we would win the three points."

When is the match between Morocco and the Republic of Congo scheduled?

• The match is scheduled for Tuesday, June 11 at 8pm, Moroccan time (9pm in France and Belgium)

Where will the match take place?
The match will ultimately take place at the Grand Stade d’Agadir, whereas it was originally supposed to be played in Congo.

On which channel will the match be broadcast live?

The Moroccan channel Arryadia will broadcast the match live from 8pm