The two representatives of Moroccan football in these games thus aspire to validate, at home, their tickets for the semi-finals, especially since they brought back two precious draws (1-1) away from their bases, in the first leg.
In search of a third African title, after those of 1992 and 2017, the Red and Whites are favourites, at least on paper, to overcome the Algerians who showed themselves to be within their reach in the first leg, where the Casablanca team nevertheless suffered fatal refereeing errors.
The men of Tunisian coach Faouzi El Benzarti must count on the homogeneity of their group and their African experience, especially since the WAC has become a regular in the last rounds of the prestigious African competition.
Euphoric after its consecutive victories in Botola Pro D 1 “Inwi” and its qualification for the semi-finals of the Throne Cup, Wydad has all the ingredients to reach the last four, thanks in particular to a fiery attack, led by Ayoub El Kaabi, Mohammed Ounajem and midfielder Walid El Karti.
In this regard, El Benzarti indicated in statements to the press that his objective is to allow the players to gain cohesion, noting that several WAC executives were left on the bench during the last match of Botola in anticipation of the quarter-final return leg.
For its part, the MCA will travel to Casablanca with the sole objective of defending its chances until the end and trying to create a feat at the Mohammed V sports complex in Casablanca.
The draw conceded in Algiers “keeps our chances of qualifying for the return match intact,” said Mouloudéens coach Nabil Neghiz, noting that “this second leg in Casablanca is being played in other configurations more favorable for our team, such as the recovery of certain players who did not take part in the first leg.”
In the CAF Cup, Raja Casablanca will play the return leg with a full squad, which combines experienced players and others looking to earn their starting places.
In this sense, the coach of the Greens, the Tunisian Lassaad Chabbi said he was satisfied with the performance of his players in the first leg, stressing that “we must capitalize on the positive result of the first leg to optimize our chances of snatching victory in the next match and thus qualifying for the semi-finals.”
For their part, Orlando Pirates seem determined to defend their chances of qualifying in Casablanca, although they will be forced to play the game and make up for the goal conceded at home.
Thus, the coach of the South African team, Josef Zinnbauer, considered that his team has every chance of qualifying in the return match, adding that “we are convinced that we can score there and we will fight more. The objective is to score first.”
2024-09-22 04:04:24