National coach Walid Regragui stated that Morocco’s 5-1 victory over Gabon on Friday, in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers, was not as easy as the scoreline suggests.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Regragui highlighted that Gabon’s early stunning goal forced the team to quickly regroup, showing a positive reaction.
He pointed out that Gabon was a tough opponent, pressing hard from the start and successfully opening the scoring. Regragui noted that his players needed time to find their rhythm, especially in defense, with Noussair Mazraoui returning to the left flank and the center-back duo of Achraf Dari and Nayef Aguerd requiring more time to build chemistry.
“I commend the players for their reaction and for capitalizing on set-pieces, which we have been working on intensively,” Regragui said. He also praised the substitutes for their impact, helping secure the team’s convincing win.
Morocco will wrap up the CAN 2025 qualifiers with a match against Lesotho on Monday at the Honor Stadium in Oujda.
