Walid Reragui wants the Moroccan national team to be remembered as the best African team in the history of the 2022 World Cup. The Moroccan national team was unable to end their fairy tale story at the 2022 World Cup on a sweet note. A 0-2 defeat to France in the last four round ensured they end up as the semifinalists of the 2022 World Cup.
However, Morocco has yet to lift the suitcase from Qatar. They will have match with Croatia in the race for third place in the 2022 World Cup. Morocco coach Walid Reragui emphasized that his team will recover after losing to France in the semifinals.
Walid Reragui likens his troops to the character Rocky Balboa in the Rocky film series who never gives up. “Now we are eliminated but we will rise like Rocky always rises,” said Reragugui, quoted from the FIFA website. “I know there is a Rocky 7 or 8. So we will last a long time,” Reragugui added.
Morocco did not make it to the final. However, Morocco has made an extraordinary surprise at the 2022 World Cup. The team nicknamed the Atlas Lions has qualified from Group F with the status of group winners, ahead of Croatia and Belgium.
Then, in the knockout stages, Morocco won on penalties against Spain (last 16) and eliminated Portugal (quarter-finals), before losing to Les Bleus in the semifinals. Morocco also made history as the first African team to reach the semifinals of the World Cup.
Prior to this, the best achievement for African teams in the World Cup was reaching the quarter-finals. In this regard, Walid Reragui wants Morocco to be remembered as the best African team in the history of the World Cup.
“As the first African team to qualify for the semifinals and as the best African team in history. The result is clear, we are semi-finalists but we have faced some of the best European teams,” he said.
“Since we faced big teams on our way, we had some surprises, and I think people will remember our mindset, as well as our human qualities,” said Reragugui. “We have proven that Moroccans have dignity and desire. strong,” said the 47-year-old coach. The match for third place for the 2022 World Cup Croatia vs Morocco will be held at the Khalifa International Stadium, Saturday (17/12/2022).
