Morocco aims for the "U17 AFCON" title.

The Portuguese Tiago Lima Pereira, coach of the Moroccan national team for under 17 years, confirmed the readiness of the "Atlas Cubs" to participate in the African Cup of Nations hosted by Morocco, starting with the opening match against the Tunisian national team next Wednesday.

Lima stated in press remarks to the Royal Moroccan Football Federation channel on YouTube that the national players are now ready to start the competition after the recent preparation period, explaining: "We are ready, and the players are fully focused on the first match. Everyone is excited for the start of the tournament because we want to play football, and that is the most important thing for us."

The national team coach emphasized that discussing pressure is not appropriate for players in this age group, adding: "We are talking about players who are 16 years old, so we do not want to put additional pressure on them, even though we understand that playing on our home ground gives the competition a different character. We just want to give our best and make the fans happy from the first match."

The same speaker mentioned that the main goal remains to win the continental title, but he prefers to approach the tournament step by step, saying: "We cannot escape the goal of winning the tournament, but we are currently focused on delivering a good match and achieving victory in the first encounter."

Lima pointed out that the limited time does not allow for working on all tactical details within the national teams, highlighting that the greater focus has been on the mental aspect, stating: "We are a national team, not a club, so we do not have a long time to prepare. We tried to work on various aspects, but the greater focus was mental; because the players are tactically ready."

The Portuguese coach also acknowledged the presence of some cases of fatigue and minor injuries within the national group due to the end of the season, while confirming that the majority of players are ready for the first match against Tunisia.

Lima also spoke about the importance of not being affected by the results of previous encounters, referring to the recent victory over Tunisia, stressing that "the new match starts from zero, and we should not look back. We need to focus on delivering our best performance and being a strong team throughout the minutes of the match."

The coach of the Moroccan under 17 national team concluded his remarks by emphasizing that the goal is not limited to results, but also includes developing the players and giving them greater experience at the continental level, saying: "We want the players to finish the tournament more confident and with a better understanding of the game; because representing the national team is an important step in their football career."