Portugal Outclasses Morocco 4-1 in Futsal World Cup Group Stage

"The match was highly intense, given the gaps with Portugal, whose players are trained in futsal from a young age, while we work directly with the seniors," explained Hicham Dguig, at the end of the match. Since the start of the Futsal World Cup, Morocco has only conceded one defeat. The Atlas Lions beat Tajikistan (4-2) and Panama (6-3) before losing to Portugal on Sunday (4-1).

"Given our results on the continental level, the public sets the bar very high. But on the field, there are gaps that decided the outcome of the match, especially in terms of physique," noted the Moroccan coach, stressing that the balance of power was unbalanced numerically. "After the injury of Ismail Amazal (at the beginning of the match, ed.), we were missing two players on the official list (after Othmane El Idrissi was ruled out from the first match, ed.)," Hicham Dguig further explained.

In addition, Morocco does not have a long experience of the Futsal World Cup. "The Futsal World Cup has been going on for 40 years. We are already at the tenth edition. Morocco only started playing the World Cup in 2012. The great teams are already reaping the fruits of the training of the young categories, while our experience in this area is just beginning," recalled the national coach.

After their defeat against Portugal, Morocco will face Iran, a great futsal nation, 12-time Asian champion, on Thursday, September 26 at the Boukhara Universal Sports Complex at 1:30 pm (5:30 pm in Uzbekistan). In case of victory, the Atlas Lions will likely cross swords with Brazil, one of the best teams in the world and the winner of Morocco in the last edition.