“I’m very proud. Five games and so many wins, it wasn’t easy. We spent a month together, during which I asked the players for work, discipline and concentration every day and they did it,” he rejoiced during the post-match conference.
“I hope this will be the start to show the players that we are capable of performing. We have the talent, but we have to believe in it,” he said.
“We prepared the players well mentally so that they could control their emotions during the match, which they did well despite their young age,” he said.
Regarding the match, Issame Charaï indicated that he expected a good fight against a good Egyptian team.
“We knew that the Egyptian team was tough. They are the reigning champions and they have not conceded a goal in this edition. With ten players, we knew that it would be difficult for them, but they are strong in counter-attacks,” he stressed.
“We had already played 120 minutes in the semi-final and some players had physical problems. So I didn’t want to take too many risks and line up all the players who were strong offensively. It was smarter to continue building, by infiltrating the flanks, to look for the players who were strong in heading play. Set plays were also a possible solution,” explained the coach.
Regarding the composition of the national team’s defense, made up of players under 19, Charaï said that it is an “investment.”
“We counted on young people who are the next generation, particularly in defence. It was not an adventure, but an investment and it is by going through these stages that these young people will improve,” he noted.
Asked about his goals for the Olympics, he replied: “We are the African champions and we must be ambitious, but we will go step by step.”
For his part, Egypt coach Rogerio Micale said that “it was a great match, we dominated the beginning of the game and we scored a goal. We then had to make more effort after one of our players was sent off. With ten players, we still created danger.”
The Egyptians opened the scoring in the 10th minute through Mahmoud Saber (10th), before Yanis Begraoui equalized in the 37th minute. During extra time, Oussama Targhaline scored the winning goal for the Moroccans (105+3rd).
Morocco and Egypt have validated their tickets for the next Olympic Games (Paris-2024), after their victory in the semi-finals, against, respectively, Mali and Guinea.
Third place in this edition went to the Malian selection after its victory on penalties by 4 to 3 (0-0), against its Guinean counterpart, Friday at the Grand Stade de Tangier, in a classification match. Mali wins the 3rd and final ticket for the Paris Olympics.
2024-08-15 13:38:56