Wahbi: Proud of the Moroccan national team's performance despite being eliminated from the World Cup.
National coach Mohamed Wahbi expressed his disappointment after the "Atlas Lions" were eliminated from the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup, following a defeat against the French team with a score of two goals to none on Thursday evening. He emphasized, however, his pride in the journey his players undertook, stressing that this loss will not erase what the team achieved in the tournament, nor will it deter him from continuing to work in preparation for upcoming challenges.
Wahbi said in statements following the match: "We are very disappointed because we aspired to achieve more, but we must accept this result. We will not let this defeat discourage us, and we will continue to work."
The national coach pointed out that he did not choose to retreat tactically, stating: "I always say that we do not make any prior decisions regarding raising or lowering the defensive line. It was the French team that forced us to retreat because they were very good at ball possession, consistently succeeding in penetrating through the flanks, playing with short passes and triangular movements, which forced us to defend in deeper areas."
The same coach added that the Moroccan team struggled in the first half due to the difficulty of transitioning the ball during offensive changes, before their performance improved after the break, saying: "It is true that we faced difficulties in transitioning the ball during offensive changes in the first half, and this was our biggest problem, but things improved significantly in the second half despite the same players participating; it was important to clarify to the players the need to make a greater effort, move without the ball, and make runs that allow us to stretch the opponent's lines so that we can transition the ball."
Wahbi continued: "After the first 25 minutes, we regained our calm at times and managed to relieve their pressure, as they were no longer able to press us in the same way, but we did not advance much forward. I believe our performance in the second half was better."