Penalty shoot-outs test the nerves of even the coolest football coach. Walid Regragui, the manager of Morocco attracting global admiration at the World Cup for his leadership, intelligence, clarity and patience, would acknowledge that.
Barely four months ago, he had to oversee a high-stakes shoot-out having just been banished from the touchline.
He had been shown a red card in the final moments of extra time in a tense Moroccan Cup final where his then club, Casablanca’s Wydad, were being held to a draw by Berkane.
Regragui lost his temper, hurling a water bottle in the direction of a counter-attacking Berkane player. His players promptly lost their nerves in the penalties, defeated, denied a treble from a dazzling season, as their inspirational and momentarily emotional coach prepared to leave the job to take charge of the national team.
Regragui’s conduct and authority ahead of his next penalty shoot-out would be utterly distinct.
This time, on Tuesday night in Al-Rayyan, he was counting down the most significant minutes of his career, perhaps the most important seconds in the history of Moroccan football or of any Mena country at a World Cup.
He kept his cool, as did his impeccably marshalled team, after two goalless hours against Spain, even when the Spanish substitute Pablo Sarabia skimmed a shot, in stoppage time, off the Moroccan goalpost.
Regragui simply held his breath, turned his thoughts to guiding his players through the concentrated individual pressures that would follow.
He soothed the anxieties of his first penalty-taker, Abdelhamid Sabiri, one of the footballers freshly persuaded, during Regragui’s three-and-half month term so far as Morocco manager, to commit to the national team ahead of Germany, where Sabiri grew up and whose under-21s he has played for.
He gently encouraged Hakim Ziyech, the superstar whom Regragui in September convinced to rescind his retirement from international football.
Morocco v Spain ratings
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MOROCCO RATINGS: Bono, 9 – The eccentric keeper performed like his namesake with some fantastic saves, but most importantly, he was the saviour in the shootout. AFP -
Achraf Hakimi, 9 – The audacious PSG sensation rounded off a great defensive display with a panenka to knock out the Spanish. AFP -
Nayef Aguerd, 8 – The West Ham star was disappointed to hobble off with an injury after showcasing great focus throughout to go alongside some key clearances. AFP -
Romain Saiss, 8 – Captain supreme was a vocal leader from start to finish and barely missed a step outside of a needless yellow card. AFP -
Noussair Mazraoui, 7 – After losing a few early battles, Mazraoui went box to box with great challenges and a nice effort that tested the keeper in the first half. EPA -
Azzedine Ounahi, 8 – Cleared everything up just in front of the defence and always looked like an important presence on the counter. AFP -
Sofyan Amrabat, 9 – Looked strong whenever he was challenged, never stopped running and prevented several key through balls from reaching the box. EPA -
Selim Amallah, 8 – The midfielder provided some smart cover when Morocco needed it and had a few nicely-timed interceptions. AFP -
Hakim Ziyech, 8 – Chelsea’s finest came up big with a strong performance at both ends of the pitch, capping it off with a successful penalty. Getty -
Youssef En-Nesyri, 7 – Outside of a few nice plays on the defensive side of things, the big centre forward barely had a meaningful touch. EPA -
Sofiane Boufal, 7 – While he was forced to drop quite deep to get into the action, Boufal showed solid footwork and did a good job of hunting down the ball. EPA -
SUBS: Abde Ezzalzouli, 7 – Worked hard to make things happen down the flank despite not having many big opportunities. EPA -
Walid Cheddira, 5 – The substitute forward had three golden opportunities to put Spain away, but unfortunately, he didn’t take any of them. AP -
Abdelhamid Sabiri, 8 – After some amazing moments at the back, Sabiri buried his penalty to send Morocco on their way to victory. PA -
Jawad El Yamiq, 7 – Did well to shield the ball every time he was called upon and saved Morocco from late heartbreak at the end of extra time. AP -
Yahya Attiyat Allah, 7 – The no-nonsense defender held off his man, kept his composure when needed and did his job perfectly. Getty -
Badr Benoun, N/A – Didn’t have much time to make an impact in what served as a brief cameo prior to the shootout, in which he missed a penalty. Getty -
SPAIN RATINGS: Unai Simon, 7 - Couldn’t quite hold a 32nd minute powerful shot from Mazraoui but then grabbed hold of it. Saved a 104th minute shot from Cheddira. Saved Morocco’s third penalty. Getty -
Jordi Alba, 7 - Gave the ball away which led to Morocco’s best chance of the first half. Up against tactically disciplined opponents who limited his advances. EPA -
Aymeric Laporte, 8 - Defended well. Key header away in a spell of Moroccan pressure on 43. Booked on 76. Had a free header on 95 minutes and got a touch to stop a Moroccan chance on goal. AFP -
Rodri, 8 - The Manchester City defender and his club teammate Laporte completed more passes than the entire Morocco team. Little got past them, but when they were beaten Morocco had three solid chances. AFP -
Marcos Llorente, 6 - Not usually a right back, it showed too often in front of the predominantly Moroccan contingent of the 44,667 present. AFP -
Sergio Busquets, 6 - Spain had 81% of possession but while Busquets normally has one of the highest involvement rates, Morocco squeezed him and his 57 touches (after 90 minutes) compared badly to 168 for Rodri and 149 for Laporte immediately behind him. 120th minute shot blocked as he pushed forward. Had his penalty, Spain’s third, saved. AFP -
Pedri, 6 - Difficult to advance against the tenacious Amrabat as Spain went to extra time for the fifth successive time in a major tournament. EPA -
Gavi, 6 - The youngest player to start a knock-out game at the World Cup since Pele, his 25th minute shot was pushed on to the bar – though it was offside. AFP -
Dani Olmo, 5 - Played in an attack which only had one shot on target in the first half, the lowest ever for Spain in a World Cup match. He made it two on 54 with a strike on target from a tight angle. His 94th minute free-kick was goal-bound and well saved. Reuters -
Marco Asensio, 5 - Smashed a shot into the side netting after a brilliant run to beat the offside trap. And that was about it against a highly competent defence. AFP -
Ferran Torres, 5 - Nutmegged the excellent Mazraoui after 47 and won a free-kick when pulled back. No shots, let alone on target and no key balls as Spain were stifled by their neighbours. AP -
SUBS: Carlos Soler, 6 - On for Gavi on 63. Whipped a 90th minute free-kick in. Took Spain’s second penalty - poor and saved. AFP -
Alvaro Morata, 5 - On for Asensio after 63. Ran into the Morocco box on 69. Struck a shot across goal on 81. Poor header in 90th minute from a Soler cross. Couldn’t find a final pass in a 116th minute attack. AP -
Nico William, 5 - On for Torres after 75. Lively. Set up Morata with a shot. Then brought off himself. AP -
Alejandro Balde, 6 - On for Alba after 97. Shot blocked two minutes later. EPA -
Ansu Fati, 6 - On for Olmo on 97. Brought energy to Spain’s attack. AFP -
Pablo Sarabia, 6 - On for Williams after 118 and hit a very good ball in – then hit the post with his own shot after 123 minutes, the last play of the game. Missed Spain’s first penalty. Getty
By the time that pair had scored the first two penalties, and Spain failed with theirs, Morocco were on their way to putting the country in a World Cup quarter-final for the very first time. They became the first Arab nation to reach the last eight.
They had put an African country coached by an African in the last eight for the first time, too, one of the many landmarks set by Regragui, 47, in an extraordinary few months.
He guided Wydad to the African Champions League title in May. He sealed the Moroccan league in June, and well before his hot-tempered moment in the domestic Cup final in Rabat, his sweep of club titles looked like a moment of serendipity for his country.
Within the national team, who qualified for Qatar 2022 under the experienced Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodzic, there were problems, notably the exclusion of key players because of fractious relationships with Halilhodzic.
Regragui was the solution.
First, he cured the Ziyech issue. The mercurial Chelsea winger had fallen out with Halilhodzic in the summer 2021, his attitude and professionalism publicly criticised. Regragui brought about a rapprochement.
If it was not quite a condition of Regragui’s appointment that Ziyech, a potential match-winner of high-class pedigree, be persuaded to return, that Ziyech did was an instant recommendation that this articulate, confident man-manager was an excellent communicator; flexible, a listener.
He is in tune with players’ experiences. Regragui was once just like them. He had a distinguished playing career with the national team, a studious full-back who was part of the most successful Moroccan Africa Cup of Nations campaign in any current player’s lifetime, when the Atlas Lions reached the 2004 final, losing 2-1 to hosts Tunisia.
Regragui’s through-ball set up the equaliser in the final; he was a dynamic influence up and down the right flank.
He was, even then, a coach-in-waiting, according to Rolland Courbis, who was Regragui’s coach at the French club Ajaccio in the early 2000s.
“He was interested in every aspect of the job: tactics, man-management, understanding the mind,” Courbis told the French newspaper Liberation. He was an intrepid professional, broadening his experience by playing in Spain’s top division, for Racing Santander, in between contracts with several French clubs.
He was born in France, to Moroccan parents, a dual heritage he shares with a majority of those he now instructs.
Ziyech was born in the Netherlands; Sabiri grew up in Germany; Achraf Hakimi, scorer of the impudent, clinching penalty against Spain, was born in the suburbs of Madrid, and, in many cases, his players have confronted a choice of whether to play for Morocco or their European nations.
Regragui, in his polished press conferences, makes a point of emphasising the strength of commitment involved in those choices and that he considers the diversity of background in his squad as a virtue.
“He sticks up for his players and that gives you the desire to battle for him,” said the defender Nayef Aguerd, whose career – he is now at Premier League West Ham United – took off while playing for FUS Rabat under Regragui. Youssef En-Nesyri, the striker who has at times endured some savage criticism from fans, is regularly praised for his industry.
Ziyech, a divisive figure given his period out of the national team, has also heard a great deal of public support from the coach who brought him back, although the plaudits have not side-stepped Ziyech’s maverick streak.
“He’s a strong character: he might protest if I substitute him,” said the coach of the Chelsea man, “but I prefer players who discuss your decisions rather than being passive.”
The lead-up to the World Cup, its timetable hurried because Regragui only replaced Halilhodzic in late August, featured many more one-on-one dialogues.
Sofyan Amrabat, superb anchor of the midfield through the victories over Belgium, Canada and Spain, was visited over several days in Italy, where Amrabat plays for Fiorentina, to talk through the specifics of the role and responsibility envisaged for him.
Noussair Mazraoui, the Bayern Munich right-back who had, like Ziyech, been marginalised by Halilhodzic, was coaxed back and then asked, in a three-way meeting with Paris Saint-Germain’s Hakimi, how they would prefer to solve a dilemma: Both play in the same right-back position; Regragui wanted the pair of them in his team.
“Mazraoui very quickly said he would play on the left,” reported the coach. The plan works: The PSG and Bayern stars flank a defence that has gone through six and half hours of World Cup action conceding just one goal.
Defensive excellence has been Morocco’s forte. Regragui makes no apology for that.
“We have a solid block,” he said, “and we know the direction we are going in.” It is already further than most imagined when a bright young manager was promoted to his country’s top job and given just three months to design a World Cup plan.
