Walid Regragui’s target of reaching the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals and possibly winning it with Morocco was dashed by South Africa’s Bafana Bafana, who defeated them 2-0 in San Pedro.
The 48-year-old hoped to advance to the semifinals, but as has been the case for the Atlas Lions in the past 48 years, their campaign ended in the round of 16.
Bafana Bafana notched an impressive 2-0 win over the Atlas Lions at the Laurent Poukou Stadium on Tuesday. Evidence Makgopa broke the deadline in the 57th minute with a thumping left-footed shot into the bottom corner.
In the 84th minute, the Atlas Lions received a penalty to even the score, but Achraf Hakimi’s shot struck the crossbar, denying them the equalizer.
“The penalty hurt us a lot,” Regragui told beIN Sports. “And surely we didn’t do everything that is required but I take full responsibility,”
Teboho Mokoena spectacularly converted a direct free kick past Bounou in added time to extend South Africa’s lead. Bafana Bafana remains the only side to defeat Morocco since the 2022 FIFA World Cup, doing so twice.
“Unexpected stumble”- Regragui
Morocco went into the AFCON confident that they could finally reclaim the gold but it was not meant to be.
“We will learn from this unexpected stumble……. This is a disappointment for our fans who supported us a lot,” Regragui said.
Plunged with some below-par performances and temporary suspensions, Regragui’s AFCON campaign has been nothing similar to that in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The ex-Wydad AC manager was briefly sidelined from his role as Morocco’s manager. This was after an altercation with DR. Congo’s Chancel Mbemba in the group stage.
Should he remain with the Atlas Lions, Regragui will now turn his attention to the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and next year’s AFCON which will be hosted in their country.
They will resume their World Cup qualifying campaign against Zambia on June 5, 2024.
