On the eve of the “small final” between Croatia and Morocco (Saturday at 4:00 p.m.), Walid Regragui appeared at a press conference in Doha. Asked about the claim made by Morocco regarding the arbitration of its semi-final loss against France, he said he supported his federation: “We do not forget that France had done the same for its match against Tunisia. […] When there are refereeing errors, it must be reported. I believe that we are wronged by a penalty and a non-yellow card on Sofiane Boufal […] But that doesn’t change anything after the competition. »
And the rest, precisely, is this match for third place against Croatia. “In order not to make a fuss, this classification match bothers me a bit. We are a bit in the place of the con. In a World Cup, we only remember the winner. ” Walid Regragui still wants to win this match ” for the fans “, and believes that it will be more spectacular than the one which opposed the two teams in the pools: ” It’s a nice wink to start and finish by Croatia […] I think there will be spectacle and respect between the two teams. It will be a more liberated match. »
For the Moroccan coach, playing for a third place in the World Cup “is not the end”. He wants to see further and use this performance for the future: “We are going to think about how to start again”, he announced. “We will have other international competitions, which will be more difficult for us. Now, we will have a new status, in Africa and in the world. »
The future of the Moroccan selection will first go through the qualifications for the next African Cup of Nations, which will be held in January 2024 in Côte d’Ivoire. For Walid Regragui, the objective will be “to be one of the best, if not the best team in Africa. Morocco are already well off in their group, with two victories against South Africa and Liberia.