By Mark Ogagan
Head Coach of Morocco’, Walid Regragui expressed satisfaction after his side kicked off their TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations campaign with an emphatic 3-0 drubbing of Tanzania on Wednesday night.
“First matches are always difficult, and the humidity made this one tough, but we respected Tanzania,” said Regragui after Wednesday’s Group F clash.
The Atlas Lions dominated their East African opponents at the Stade Laurent Pokou, and as expected, took the lead through Roman Saiss who finished off the rebound from Hakim Ziyech’s parried free kick.
Tanzania was reduced to 10 men on 70 minutes after Novatus was sent off and Morocco took advantage by adding their second through Azzedine Ounahi.
Yousseff En Nesyri then scored to end the contest at 3-0.
Regragui felt Morocco executed their game plan well against tricky opponents.
“We wanted to score early and had chances, but the goal finally came from a set piece. Once we scored, that was the hard part done,” analysed Regragui.
He added: “At times in the second half we accepted not having the ball and managed the game like a great team.”
He also believes Morocco benefited from playing after other teams at the tournament.
“Seeing their first matches allowed us to avoid the same mistakes. We noticed many sides declined physically in the second half, so we prepared to stay fresh,” he explained.
The Moroccans now face DR Congo on January 21 in their second group game.
After a composed start, Regragui will hope his talented side can maintain intensity.
With stars like Achraf Hakimi and Sofyan Amrabat emerging unscathed, Morocco already appear well-placed to progress in Cote d’Ivoire.
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