Morocco heads into the Africa Cup of Nations with unprecedented expectations on its shoulders. The tournament, which was originally planned to be held last summer but was postponed by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) due to the rainy season in the host country Ivory Coast, will be marked by the Atlas Lions trying to follow up a historic World Cup. Contribute to a legacy that dwarfs any other African nation.
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Morocco, which is in Group F along with Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, is among the biggest favorites of the tournament. In Qatar, they became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the competition; While they came first in the group including Belgium, Croatia and Canada, they advanced to the last four by eliminating Spain and Portugal.
By contrast, Morocco lifted an Afcon trophy in 19 matches in 1976. It’s a disappointing result, considering the country has the best football infrastructure on the continent, funded by King Mohammed VI. Unlike many of its African counterparts, the association is well run and boasts a wealth of talent playing club football at the highest level in Europe. Getting to one final and two semi-finals in almost five decades is a poor return for a country that is often portrayed as one of the favourites. In recent Afcon editions, worse teams with far fewer resources have triumphed.
Now the Atlas Lions are not just one of the favorites, but an overwhelming favourite. The team set incredibly high standards in Qatar but will have to deal with changing their style of play and mentality on the pitch as they start the tournament at the Laurent Pokou Stadium in San-Pédro.
Morocco has been struggling since the World Cup. They had a massive 2-1 win against Brazil, but a defeat against South Africa and draws against Peru, Cape Verde and Ivory Coast showed how much they would have to change their style of play. Responding to his team’s form, Morocco coach Walid Regragui said: “We are playing against the best players in the world. “I can also play against the teams ranked 50th or 60th in the FIFA rankings and say how many matches we have been undefeated.”
He was apparently investigating Algeria and their 35-match unbeaten run, which ended at the 2021 Afcon. It was an odd comment given that Morocco mostly played teams below 50th in the rankings, including Liberia in 153rd.
Maybe his critics have a point. In Qatar, Morocco was very disciplined and organized defensively. In goal, Bono took advantage of rare opportunities from Achraf Hakimi, Nayef Aguerd, Romain Saïss and Noussair Mazraoui. Sofyan Amrabat was Morocco’s hard-working base but also proved to be much more than an average destroyer with his passing and progressive runs. Azzedine Ounahi was instrumental in moving the ball up the pitch and his pace, technical ability and decision-making were crucial in maintaining possession and executing Regragui’s tactic of using the other team’s willingness to attack to find areas to exploit.
None of this has changed for Morocco. They still very rarely compromise and are able to open up their opponents’ midfield. They have concerns ahead. Hakim Ziyech was in excellent form at the World Cup, but the 30-year-old player, who had difficulty maintaining his form at Galatasaray for 13 months, missed 13 matches this season due to a foot injury and hamstring problem.
Similarly, Sofiane Boufal has only played five matches this season after suffering an unknown injury for Qatari side Al-Rayyan that kept him sidelined for more than 100 days. He last played 90 minutes in August.
There is also dear Youssef En-Nesyri. A superb header against Portugal in Qatar, his only goal in the knockout stage, sealed his team’s place in the semi-finals. However, he has been criticized for his erratic form throughout his career and he appears to be in one of those slumps. The striker has not scored for the national team since the World Cup and has scored five league goals for Sevilla this season.
It would be premature to say that Morocco have emerged, but they are struggling to adjust from facing the world’s strongest strikers who give them space to facing sides that will bring them down to their level. , frustrate them physically, and then get a result. Morocco has been eliminated in this way in the last three Afcon matches, collapsing at crucial moments against teams they should have beaten: losing 2-1 in extra time to Egypt in 2022, losing 4-1 on penalties to Benin in 2019 and losing 2-1. They lost 1-0 to Egypt in 2017.
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It doesn’t help that Regragui remains uncertain about the team’s prospects. After the World Cup, he said Morocco needed to win the continental cup to cement its legacy. Less than a year later he made a complete 180, suggesting that his hopes of advancing beyond the group stage should be tempered. “It will be very difficult for us to win Afcon,” he said. “We will not be favourites. The last time we made the semi-finals, I think I was a player. I had hair.”
Lately he’s been back to accepting being the favorite and hoping the players take it in stride. “Being the underdog in the World Cup and being the favorite of Afcon is a value. We have gained a new status by being in the top 15 not only in Africa but also at the global level. [in the Fifa rankings]. Players need to adapt to this new situation. “It’s always nice to be a feared team.”
There were exciting foreigners in Qatar and Morocco; a team representing an entire continent and a reduced region of the world, in football or otherwise. They now find themselves among rivals who are jealous of them and will stop at nothing to take their place. It’s up to them to show whether the pressure to build on their World Cup success will propel them forward or be detrimental. Morocco’s football legacy depends on it.