Morocco’s Taarabt Slams Team’s AFCON Performance After Early Exit

Adel Taarabt criticized the way the Moroccan national team played during the AFCON Côte d’Ivoire 2023. "The quality of the players in the Moroccan team is such that in twenty minutes, we should finish the match," said the Al-Nasr midfielder. Morocco experienced a fiasco by being eliminated in the round of 16 against South Africa (0-2) during this AFCON. "Against South Africa, the team was watching the ball without exerting any pressure..., noted the Moroccan international. It was easy to take the ball away from them... It was good during the World Cup, but I didn’t like this system for the Africa Cup of Nations."

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Adel is not on the list of 27 players called up by Walid Regragui, coach of the Atlas Lions, to take part in Morocco’s next two matches against Zambia and Congo Brazzaville, counting towards the 2026 World Cup African qualifiers. He confirmed that he had previously refused the invitation to join the Moroccan national team when it was led by coach Badou Zaki. As for the Raja, he conditions the possibility of joining the Casablanca club on several factors. The 35-year-old player says he cannot end his football career at this club out of respect for its status and history.