‘Reaching semis not enough…’: Morocco coach on ‘key’ strategy against reigning champion France

“We are playing the world champions with many world-class players and a very good coach,” said Regragui adding that it is essential to “get rid of the mentality” to be satisfied with just reaching a certain level in the tournament.

“We will show great desire and try to pull off an upset. Why not reach the final of the World Cup? We can dream, it doesn’t cost you anything to have dreams,” he added

“I don’t know if it will be enough … I know we are not favourites but we are confident,” Regragui added. “We’re going to fight to move on, for the African nations, for the Arab world.”

In this edition of FIFA World Cup, the Moroccon displayed their skills by landing superb victories against European heavyweights Belgium, Spain and Portugal.

‘Team spirit’ key to winning against FIFA

And for the next match against the reigning champion France, the coach says having “team spirit” was going to be key both tactically and mentally.

“Everyone wants to give their best in every game. We play a collective game with a good spirit,” Regragui said. “For me, that is the most important thing in football.”

“The best team in the tournament, Brazil, is already out. We are an ambitious team and we are hungry but I don’t know if that will be enough,” he added.

Wednesday’s match has cultural and political connotations — Morocco was under French rule from 1912-56 — and the outcome is far from the foregone conclusion many would presume by looking at the names of the players and the rankings of the teams.

The Morocco national team depends heavily on the diaspora, with 14 of the squad’s 26 players born abroad, including their French-born coach, Walid Regragui, the highest proportion for any team at the World Cup.