Walid Regragui concedes he might be “a bit crazy”, but he says his Morocco side are not satisfied with simply making the World Cup semi-final, as they prepare to take on reigning champions France on Wednesday.
Morocco, the first African side in history to progress to this point at a global finals, face a team Regragui considers the best in the world at Al Bayt Stadium, north of Doha.
Morocco, though, have provided the World Cup with one of its great storylines, having initially finished top of a group containing Croatia and Belgium to qualify the country to the knockout stages for the first time in 36 years.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday at the pre-match press conference, Regragui said: “If we are happy just to reach semi-final and some see that as enough, I don't agree. If you get to the semi-finals and you are not hungry then there is a problem.
“The best team in the tournament, Brazil, is already out. We are an ambitious team, and we are hungry, but I don't know if that will be enough.
“We want Africa to be top of the world, but we will have to be strong to progress. We are not the favourites, but we are confident. Maybe that makes me mad, or crazy? A bit of crazy can be good.
“We had perhaps the most difficult route to the semis. Every round people thought we would get knocked out. But we are still here, and we are going to fight to the end.”
Morocco 1 Portugal 0: player ratings
MOROCCO RATINGS: Yassine Bounou - 9, Made a whole host of impressive saves, stopping Joao Felix’s header, catching Raphael Guerreiro’s cross under pressure from Bruno Fernandes, making an outstanding save to deny Felix, then holding Cristiano Ronaldo’s strike at the second attempt.
Reuters
Achraf Hakimi - 8, Defended brilliantly in one-on-one situations against Felix. Was also involved in some lovely link-up play but wasn’t afraid to get rid when required. Made a superb burst up the pitch and had the intelligence to win a free-kick at the end of it. AFP
Jawad El Yamiq - 9, Put in a herculean display, doing well to block Guerreiro’s shot and getting just enough on his deflection off Felix’s shot for it to go off target. Made a heroic header in extra time. AFP
Romain Saiss - 8, Was a true leader for his team and got up impressively to clear Ruben Dias’ long pass forward. Valiantly played on as long as he could before succumbing to his injury. AP
Yahya Attiat-Allah - 9, Having already got forward well a few times, delivered the inviting cross for Youssef En Nesyri’s opener – although he did miss the target from a good opportunity. Defended brilliantly throughout, especially against Diogo Dalot. AFP
Azzedine Ounahi - 8, Showed a cool head in every situation and was brilliant on the ball, notably moving it out to Attiat-Allah in the build-up to the opener. Hit a shot horribly high and wide. Getty
Sofyan Amrabat - 9, Did a brilliant job of winning the ball and moving it, as epitomised when he regained possession in the opposition’s half and passed to Hakim Ziyech, who won a corner. Stepped up at vital times as Portugal pursued an equaliser. AFP
Selim Amallah - 6, Showed intent throughout but brought a disappointing end to a couple of brilliant moves, with a poor touch ending one before he conjured a horrible shot off target from another. AFP
Hakim Ziyech - 7, Cut inside Otavio well but dragged his ambitious shot wide. Then got involved more and provided some lovely touches in tight areas while also helping out defensively. Brilliant free-kick delivery made things awkward for Diogo Costa. Reuters
Youssef En Nesyri - 8, Sent an early header over the crossbar under little pressure, headed off target from Ziyech’s free-kick, but came up big at the third attempt when he beat Diogo Costa to reach Attiat-Allah’s cross. Also put in a lot of great work to help defensively. Getty
Sofiane Boufal - 7, Showed a willingness to work hard for his team as well as displaying quality, as was epitomised by the trick near his own corner flag to maintain possession and win a free-kick, then again when he pickpocketed Cristiano Ronaldo on the edge of the box. AFP
SUBS: Achraf Dari (Saiss, 58’) - 7, Was forced to sprint back and chase Felix almost immediately after coming on but did it brilliantly. Kept Ramos away from Bruno Fernandes’ cross well. Booked for a heavy challenge on Rafael Leao. AP
Walid Cheddira (Amallah, 65’) - 3, Made a good defensive header but couldn’t quite get through at the end of a brilliant counter. Should have left the ball when Amrabat played it through and was then sent off after receiving two yellow cards in as many minutes.
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Badr Benoun (En Nesyri, 65’) - 8, Made a strong header to clear Leao’s cross and guarded Bounou as he gathered Ronaldo’s shot after making the initial save. Headed away Fernandes’ ball superbly.
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Zakaria Aboukhlal (Ziyech, 81’) – N/R, Constantly hassled the Portuguese defence but couldn’t dink the ball past Costa after racing through. EPA
Yahya Jabrane (Boufal, 82’) – N/R, Was saved by Bono after his poor pass resulted in a threatening Felix shot but help edhis team see out the game. AP
PORTUGAL RATINGS: Diogo Costa - 6, Gathered Boufal’s shot convincingly but was outjumped by En Nesyri as he scored the winner. Did well to keep out Ziyech’s free-kick and stop Aboukhlal. AFP
Diogo Dalot - 7, Made a great challenge to stop Attiat-Allah’s cross, but the Moroccan full-back ended up having far more joy down that side in the first half, before Dalot put in a strong display in the second half. Did brilliantly to stop Cheddira getting through. AFP
Pepe - 5, Showed intent with his passing but there wasn’t always the quality to match, while he headed wide from a brilliant opportunity in the final moments. AFP
Ruben Dias - 6, Had looked dominant in the air in both boxes before seemingly ducking out when En Nesyri scored the opener, likely expecting his goalkeeper to gather the ball. Put in a great tackle to stop Ziyech breaking forward. AFP
Raphael Guerreiro - 6, Saw a powerful effort blocked and played a good pass for Felix’s chance but struggled defensively against Ziyech. EPA
Bernardo Silva - 6, Was happy to accept the ball under pressure and played a great pass to get Felix into a one-on-one. Picked out Fernandes brilliantly for his chance and couldn’t quite get enough on the free-kick pass to turn it goalwards. AFP
Ruben Neves - 6, Did the basics well on the ball but struggled to keep up with Morocco’s midfield at times, as was epitomised when he resorted to pulling back Ounahi. AFP
Otavio - 7, Took up good positions and picked his moments to progress. Turned brilliantly and provided an inviting cross for Goncalo Ramos’ chance. However, he went down very dramatically at times. EPA
Bruno Fernandes - 6, Always worked hard and but the quality of his passing varied. Hit the crossbar with an audacious effort, then fired over from a promising position. Couldn’t quite execute his pass to Bernardo Silva. Getty
Goncalo Ramos - 4, Having been the star man against Switzerland, it was easy to forget that Ramos was on the pitch at times as Morocco’s defence marshalled him well. Headed wide from a great opportunity. AFP
Joao Felix - 6, Had an early header saved, a shot deflected off El Yamiq before sailing narrowly wide and a first-time effort that he completely wasted. Had some poor touches and struggled in one-on-ones against Hakimi. His brilliant shot was denied by Bounou. AFP
SUBS: Joao Cancelo (Guerreiro, 51’) - 6, Provided some moments of quality but often found himself being matched by Hakimi, Ziyech or both. His ball into the box was just too high for Dias.
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Cristiano Ronaldo (Neves, 51’) - 6, Was involved immediately but his cross was gathered by Bono. Pickpocketed by Boufal as he lined up a shot before being denied by Bono after racing through.
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Rafael Leao (Ramos, 69’) - 6, Showed immediate intent and lured Dari into getting a yellow card, then delivered a brilliant cross that Pepe should have scored from.
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Vitinha (Otavio, 69’) - 6, Played plenty of nice passes but none that notably progressed the play for Portugal. Booked for a late challenge on Ounahi
AP
Ricardo Horta (Dalot, 80’) – N/R, His first pass went straight to a Moroccan and he didn’t improve much, failing to get much out of Attiyat-Allah.
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Morocco have a number of injury concerns heading into the match with France. Captain Romain Saiss was stretchered off before the hour in the victory against Portugal – he later said he would “give everything” to be fit for the semi-final – while midfield linchpin Sofyan Amrabat is one of several playing through injury. Others, including centre-back Nayef Aguerd, are considered doubts for Wednesday.
However, Regragui said: “We have a number of injuries, but we have an excellent medical staff who are working hard and coming with good news every day.
“We will have to wait to last minute – we tend to do that. No one is out, but no one is definitely in either.”
Regragui added: “Everyone might think we are tired; they said that before the last games too. You can't be tired in a World Cup semi.”
In France, Morocco go up against not only a side seeking to become the first in 60 years to retain the trophy, but one boasting tournament top-scorer Kylian Mbappe.
Regragui said he did not have a dedicated plan to stop the star forward, given France's all-round talent, but explained: “The further you get, the more difficult the games are. We are playing the world champions with world-class players and a very good coach, possibly the best in the world.
Morocco fans celebrate at Souq Waqif in Doha after their country's World Cup win over Portugal. AFP
Morocco fans in the Astoria neighbourhood of Queens, New York. Reuters
Morocco fans in Paris. Reuters
Morocco fans in Doha. Getty
A Morocco fan celebrates in London. Reuters
The UK capital was taken over by Moroccans. Reuters
A Moroccan fan on his horse in Casablanca. Reuters
Fans block a bus in Trafalgar Square, London. Reuters
Morocco fans in London celebrate after reaching the semi-final. Reuters
Fans wave their flags in Rabat. EPA
Moroccans in Rabat watching the match. AP Photo
Moroccans beat their drums in Rabat. AP
This Morroccan fan in Rabat celebrated with cake. AP
Moroccans celebrate in Rabat. AP
Souq Waqif in Doha was taken over by Morocco supporters. AFP
Mohammed celebrates with a replica World Cup trophy in Rabat, Morocco. AP
More scenes from Souq Waqif in Doha. AFP
Celebrations in Rabt went on well into the night. AFP
A fan is thrown in the air during Rabat celebrations. AFP
More scenes of joy from the Moroccan capital. AFP
Morocco's supporters celebrate in Rabat. AFP
“But we will show great desire and try to pull off an upset. Why not reach the final of the World Cup? We’ve come to this competition to change mindsets within our continent.
“We aren’t satisfied with the semi-final and being the first African team to do that. We want to go further. It’s a knockout game and when you have desire, commitment and the support of the crowd, you can win it.
“We are one of the four best teams in the world now and we want to reach the final.”
Morocco are expected to have the backing of around 20,000 of their fans at Al Bayt Stadium, with Regragui referring to the semi-final as a “home match”.
“These are crazy guys,” he said. “They are the best fans in the world, and tomorrow we will introduce them to the world.
“We are a very passionate people. At least 20,000 people are going to come here to watch the match. It shows the passion we have for football. If we can show that, that is fantastic. If we can make young people around the world dream, then that is fantastic.”