Morocco stick with Regragui in spite of AFCON 'failure'

Walid Regragui will continue as Morocco coach in spite of their Africa Cup of Nations failure, the national football federation said in a statement on Monday.

AFP , Monday 5 Feb 2024,

Morocco s head coach Walid Regragui concentrates prior the start of the African Cup of Nations round of 16 soccer match between Morocco and South Africa, at the Laurent Pokou stadium in San P dro, Ivory Coast, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. AP

Hopes were high for Morocco in the Ivory Coast after Regragui had led them to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a first for any African nation.

After finishing top of their group with two wins and a draw, however, the Atlas Lions lost 2-0 to South Africa in the round of 16, which "caused disappointment", the federation said in the statement.

"I failed. It's my failure, not the players," said Regragui who had previously said he would step down if Moroccan did not at least reach the quarter-finals.

But the 48-year-old head coach will remain in place with the Moroccan federation saying it wanted to "mobilise all means to ensure full success for the national team" ahead of the 2025 AFCON and 2030 World Cup, which are both set to take place in the North African country.

Regragui's AFCON was also marred when he was suspended by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after an altercation with Congolese defender Chancel Mbemba at the end of a group match -- a decision that was later overruled after an appeal from the Moroccan federation.

Check the AFCON matches

Check the AFCON stats

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)

Search Keywords:

AFP

Walid Regragui

Morocco

Nations Cup

Short link:

ADD COMMENT

Your name:

Your email:

Comment’s Title:

Comment:

Ahram Online welcomes readers' comments on all issues covered by the site, along with any criticisms and/or corrections. Readers are asked to limit their feedback to a maximum of 4000 characters (roughly 200 words). All comments/criticisms will, however, be subject to the following code

We will not publish comments which contain rude or abusive language, libelous statements, slander and personal attacks against any person/s.
We will not publish comments which contain racist remarks or any kind of racial or religious incitement against any group of people, in Egypt or outside it.
We welcome criticism of our reports and articles but we will not publish personal attacks, slander or fabrications directed against our reporters and contributing writers.
We reserve the right to correct, when at all possible, obvious errors in spelling and grammar. However, due to time and staffing constraints such corrections will not be made across the board or on a regular basis.