If Morocco provided the essentials when it entered the competition in its African Cup of Nations, the Atlas Lions lost their captain, Romain Saïss, who was injured in the first period.
Morocco went through all the feelings on Sunday during the opening match of its CAN. Because if they finally secured the essential by winning 2-0 thanks to a goal from Brahim Diaz shortly before the hour mark and a superb acrobatic return from Ayoub El-Kaabi, Walid Regragui’s men had undoubtedly dreamed of a better start.
After only ten minutes of play, it was first of all Soufiane Rahimi who missed a penalty and the opportunity to free his team. And five minutes later, it was Romain Saïss who remained on the ground, injured, and was finally forced to face the facts and leave prematurely. The disappointment was such that the former Angevin, aligned in the central hinge alongside Nayef Aguerd, could not hold back his tears as he left the pitch at the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium in Rabat.
This sequence was obviously reminiscent of that of the World Cup semi-final against the Blues when the native of Bourg-de-Péage had to be replaced after only twenty minutes of play due to a thigh injury. Captain in the absence of Achraf Hakimi, Romain Saïss seemed to fear having to give up this CAN. But at a press conference, Walid Regragui wanted to be reassuring.
“For Romain, we do not yet have the exact diagnosis, we examined his knee, is it muscular, is it something else, we will see. I can’t tell you today. If he came out, it’s because he really felt something, but we know that it’s not serious and that he will be able to come back in the competition.”he assured the press.
“A race against time”
The person concerned was awaiting the medical verdict.
“We’ll see, we’ll do exams tomorrow, we hope nothing serious. But hey, I didn’t want to take any risks either, he whispered in comments relayed by RMC. It saddens me because I tried so hard to come back, to be there. But that’s how it is. We’ll see what the exams turn out. Afterwards it will be a race against time depending on the stoppage time, you have to be positive. »
Romain Saïss, who went more than a year and a half without playing for Morocco, also commented on this first victory that took a long time to come, with some of his teammates seeming to be in difficulty.
“I told them that we had to stay focused on what we know how to dohe explained. We have quality players. There are a lot of young people, it’s their first CAN, plus a CAN in the country, there can be a little stress. You have to free yourself, play with your heart. quality, they have it. That’s what we did in the second half, we showed more intensity and we were rewarded with two goals. Maybe passing this first match will free everyone and we will gain strength. »
