As Azzedine Ounahi put Morocco ahead early in the second half, his coach Mohamed Ouahbi wagged a delighted finger. There was, perhaps, relief there too. In February he replaced the most successful coach in Morocco’s history, Walid Regragui, who may not have been popular by the end, but the idea that his successor might surpass his achievements seemed almost impossible. That may still be a way off but, five months on, Morocco have become the first African side to reach the World Cup quarter-finals twice – and there’s not much doubt that they’re playing better.
Criticism of Regragui at the 2025 Cup of Nations, which Morocco hosted and may have won on appeal – although we’ll have to wait for the court of arbitration for sport ruling to be sure – seemed harsh to outsiders. He had taken Morocco to a World Cup semi-final and had lost only four of his 49 games in charge – among them that semi-final against France in Qatar and the third-place playoff against Croatia. Was he really overly defensive, or was that just the way Morocco had to play?
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