Morocco coach: 'I want France to win'

"I congratulate France. We will support them," said Regragui, who was born in France but later played and coached Morocco, after the semi-final on the evening of December 14. "We want France to win the final so we can say we lost to the world champion. That could be good for us."

In the final, France will face Argentina. According to Regragui, the chance for both is 50-50. Morocco's coach analyzed that Argentina is regaining confidence with Lionel Messi in attack, while France is still in high form, especially in defense. "If France wins the final again, it will be a historic double. They are the best team in the world for many years," said Regragui.

Historically, only Italy in 1934 and 1938 and Brazil in 1958 and 1962 were the rare teams to win two consecutive World Cups.

Morocco is the biggest surprise of the 2022 World Cup. They topped the group with number two FIFA Belgium and the reigning runner-up Croatia, before knocking out two contenders Spain (round of 1/8) and Portugal. (Quarterfinals). Until before the semi-finals, they had only conceded a goal, from an own goal by center-back Nayef Aguerd in a 2-1 win over Canada in the final round of the group stage.

However, they could not continue to write the fairy tale before the strength of the defending champion France yesterday. In the 5th minute, Regragui's team was conceded by Theo Hernandez. In the 79th minute, the score 2-0 was fixed for France thanks to the striker replacing Kolo Muani.

What made Regragui most regretful was that the first goal came too soon, as the next consequence was that Morocco had to rush and make many technical errors. He also regretted that the players did not play decisively in the last 30 meters of the field, partly because Morocco had many players injured. "Some players only play with 60 to 80 percent fitness," he said. "We lacked the small details to become world champions. I have to thank the players. They gave their all. You can't win by magic."

Morocco still has a bronze medal match against Croatia, on Saturday, December 17. This is an opportunity for Regragui to continue to make history for national and African football. In the group stage, the two teams drew 0-0.

According to Regragui, some players may be dismayed after the semi-final defeat. Therefore, he will have two options for the pillars to continue playing, or prioritize the use of players who have not played much at the World Cup. "We will recover and see who is willing to honor the flag of Morocco in search of the final victory," Regragui said.

Morocco is the first African team to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup. Before that, Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana 2010 all stopped in the quarterfinals.