Morocco’s mixed debut at the CAN has prompted some Moroccan fans to call for his replacement by Tarik Sektioui, recent winner of the Arab Cup.
The pressure is immense for the Atlas Lions at the dawn of their third match in Group A against Zambia. Consequence of the first two matches which were hardly successful. After a sluggish inaugural victory against the Comoros (2-0), Morocco had to settle for a draw against Mali (1-1) during the second meeting and is therefore free from having to work during this third match to validate its qualification for the final phase.
These sluggish starts in the competition earned Walid Regragui severe criticism. Nothing new for the Moroccan coach who has had to face a certain amount of distrust from his supporters for several months. And this despite the historic semi-final at the 2022 World Cup and the incredible series of 19 consecutive victories, a world record, which ended on Friday against Mali.
The memory of the failed CAN two years ago in Ivory Coast is still in everyone’s minds. While Morocco was the overwhelming favorite, Achraf Hakimi’s team was eliminated in the round of 16 by South Africa. A failure that Moroccan supporters have never forgiven. So much so that some do not hesitate to demand the immediate departure of Walid Regragui and his replacement by Tarik Sektioui.
Achraf Hakimi in support
After leading the Olympic selection to the podium at the Paris Games and then winning the African Nations Championship (CHAN), the former Auxerre striker recently won the Arab Cup with Morocco B.
In the absence of the support of Moroccan supporters, Walid Regragui can count on that of the players. This is evidenced by the comments of Achraf Hakimi at a press conference on Sunday. “Since Morocco finished 4ethis is the new Morocco. The coach gave a new state of mind to this group, I had never seen it. We work to make people happy, he said. It’s like with PSG. I remember that we weren’t winning matches when we started the Champions League, we said that we didn’t have a great team, not a great coach… In the end, we are European champions, world champions…”
