Morocco national team coach Walid Regragui has said he urged his players to make history for Africa.
“I told the guys before the match we had to write history for Africa. “I’m very, very happy,” Regragui said.
He continued by saying that his team’s effort paid off and that Morocco’s historic triumph over Portugal on Saturday was not a miracle.
“The result isn’t a miracle but a product of hard work; we have beaten Spain, Portugal, and Belgium, so it’s all hard work by the players. That’s not a miracle, that’s the result of hard work, and African teams, Arab teams work hard,” he said.
After defeating Portugal 1-0, Morocco became the first African team to ever advance to the World Cup semifinals.
The difference between the two teams came from a header in the 42nd minute by Sevilla forward Youssef En-Nesyri, who gave the North Africans the lead with a match-winning goal to set up a meeting with defending World Champions France in the semifinals on Wednesday.
The Atlas Lions have not lost a game in this world cup, and they have only conceded an own-goal, having kept four clean-sheets so far and will look to make it to the final and bring the prestigious trophy to Africa for the first time.
