Morocco: Atlas Lions determined despite physical ailments

Galvanized by their feat, the Atlas Lions will approach their semi-final of the 2022 World Cup once morest France with gritted teeth on Wednesday. This despite fatigue, injuries and the risk of withdrawals.

“We feel the pain, but we will prepare, no choice“, says the midfielder with three lungs, Sofyan Amrabat, confident that he has “started the match ( once morest Portugal, 1-0) not being 100% fresh, but you have to give your all and fight until the end.”

“We were already tired following the 120 minutes once morest Spain (victory 3-0 tab)”, adds the Fiorentina player, one of the revelations of the World Cup for his inexhaustible activity.

For the fight once morest Portugal, in the quarters, Walid Regragui had “lost two important players with Nayef Aguerd and Noussair Mazraoui. But those who entered did an extraordinary job.”

The coach may well not recover the central defender of West Ham nor the left side of Bayern Munich for the half. Jawad El Yamiq and Yahya Attiat Allah should continue their interim once morest the Blues.

Probably without Aguerd or Saïss

Regragui might rest his captain Romain Saïss, released on a stretcher at the start of the second half once morest Portugal. “My thigh, we’ll see, we’ll do the exams‘, explains the captain of the Atlas Lions, revealing to have “played on one leg for 55 minutes” once morest Portugal.

“I was already in pain before the game“, admits the defender of Besiktas, who wants to believe it. “I will do anything to be there“, he launches. “I want to help my team, but there are times when you have to know how to be reasonable and not be a weight just for your personal pride.”

‘The Meaning of Fighting’

But Morocco has the best defense of this World Cup? No team managed to score a goal for him, he only conceded one once morest his camp in Aguerd once morest Canada (2-1). And no matter the names, “we defended with a sense of combat, as a team“, emphasizes Sofyan Amrabat. “In football, individuals make the difference but it is the teams that win the matches.”

Right-back Achraf Hakimi has also been playing diminished since the start of the tournament, but the Parisian has shown impressive activity despite the sores. Two other incumbents are missing ‘caisse‘ because they have played very little for a club since the start of the season. Selim Amallah is in the closet at Standard de Liège, and Hakim Zyech has already played more at the World Cup (458 minutes) than at Chelsea (271’).

Against the Portuguese, “we gave everything once more, we played with the heart“, emphasizes Selim Amallah once more. “We know that we have to start working once more for the next match once morest France. But we’re not afraid of anyone“, he launches. (with TTY)