Photo: Juan Medina/Reuters
Morocco goes to the Africa Cup of Nations with unprecedented expectations. The tournament, which was initially scheduled to take place last summer but was postponed by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) due to the rainy season in host country Ivory Coast, will feature the Atlas Lions as they look to follow up on a historic World Cup and add to a legacy that has overshadowed every other African nation.
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Morocco, which is in Group F together with Tanzania, DR Congo and Zambia, is a big favorite for the tournament. In Qatar, they became the first African country to reach the semi-finals of the competition, topping a group with Belgium, Croatia and Canada before eliminating Spain and Portugal to reach the last four.
In contrast, Morocco lifted one Afcon trophy in 19 appearances in 1976. A disappointing performance considering the country has the best football infrastructure on the continent, funded by King Mohammed VI. Unlike many of their African counterparts, the federation is well governed and has an abundance of talent playing club football at the highest level in Europe. One appearance in the final and two semi-finals in almost five decades is a poor result for a country often tipped as one of the favourites. In recent Afcon editions, worse teams with far fewer resources have emerged victorious.
Now the Atlas Lions are not just one of the favorites, but the overwhelming favorite. The team has set incredibly high standards in Qatar, but will have to struggle with changing the way they play on the pitch, and their mentality off it, when they kick off their tournament at the Laurent Pokou Stadium in San-Pédro.
Morocco has been struggling since the World Cup. They recorded a huge 2-1 win against Brazil, but a defeat to South Africa and draws against Peru, Cape Verde and Ivory Coast showed how much they will have to change the way they play. Commenting on his side's form, Morocco manager Walid Regragui said: "We are playing against the best players in the world. "I could also go and play against teams that are 50th or 60th in the FIFA rankings and then say that we have been unbeaten for so many games."
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He apparently had a problem with Algeria and their 35-match unbeaten streak that ended at the 2021 Afcon. It was an odd comment considering Morocco has also mostly played teams below 50th in the rankings, including Liberia at 153rd .
Maybe his critics have a point. In Qatar, Morocco was very disciplined and defensively organized. In goal, Bono created rare chances that went past the back four of Achraf Hakimi, Nayef Aguerd, Romain Saïss and Noussair Mazraoui. Sofyan Amrabat was Morocco's industrious foundation, but at the same time proved he was so much more than your average destroyer with his passing and progressive runs. Azzedine Ounahi was instrumental in moving the ball around the pitch and his speed, technique and decision-making were crucial in retaining possession and executing Regragui's tactics of using the other team's willingness to attack to find spaces that they could exploit.
None of that has changed for Morocco. They still rarely concede and can cut open their opponent's midfield. It's clear they're worried. Hakim Ziyech was in stunning form at the World Cup but 13 months later the 30-year-old is struggling to stay fit at Galatasaray after missing 13 games this season due to a foot injury and a hamstring problem.
Similarly, Sofiane Boufal has played just five games this season after suffering an undisclosed injury that kept him out of action for more than 100 days with Qatari side Al-Rayyan. He last played 90 minutes in August.
Then there is the beloved Youssef En-Nesyri. In Qatar, his only goal in the knockout stages, a beautiful header against Portugal, secured his team a place in the semi-finals. However, throughout his career he has been criticized for his patchy form and it seems he is in one of those slumps. The forward has not scored for the national team since the World Cup and has five league goals for Sevilla this season.
It would be premature to say that Morocco has been discovered, but they are finding it difficult to adapt: from a confrontation with the big players in the world, who offered them space, to parties that want to bring them to their level. , frustrate them physically and then work out an outcome. That's how Morocco have been eliminated in the past three Afcons, crumbling in crucial moments against sides they should have beaten: a 2-1 defeat to Egypt in extra time in 2022, a 4-1 penalty shootout defeat to Benin in 2019 and a 1-0 defeat to Egypt in 2017.
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It doesn't help that Regragui doubts the team's expectations. Following the World Cup, he said Morocco needed to win the continental trophy to cement their legacy. Less than a year later he did a complete 180, suggesting that hopes of progressing beyond the group stages should be tempered. "It will be very difficult for us to win the Afcon," he said. "We will not be favourites. The last time we reached a semi-final I think I was a player. I had her."
Recently, he has come back to accepting that he is the favorite and hopes this will put the players at ease. "It's a plus to be an underdog at the World Cup and a favorite at Afcon. We have achieved a new status not only in Africa, but also on a global level, with a place in the top 15 [in the Fifa rankings]. Players must adapt to this new status. It's always fun to be a feared team."
In Qatar, Morocco were exciting outsiders, a team that represented an entire continent and a region of the world that often shrinks, in football or otherwise. They now find themselves among rivals who envy them and will do nothing to take their place. It will be up to them to show whether the pressure to build on their World Cup success will propel them forward or prove detrimental. Morocco's football legacy depends on it.
