Walid Regragui, the coaching sensation of Qatar 2022, has launched a passionate defence of his playing style and claimed Morocco’s march to the semi-final means African football is finally being taken seriously.
In reaching the last four, Morocco have averaged under 32 percent of possession per game and a mere 2.6 attempts on target in each match. But Regragui said: “Pep Guardiola was my hero for a long time, I wanted to play possession football and when you have the likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva, that is possible.
“A lot of Europeans have criticised our style of play but that is because they don’t like to see an African team play cleverly. They think African teams used to be fun but get knocked out. But those days are over now. There isn’t just one way of winning.
“Look at France against England, they didn’t create 40 opportunities, they were just effective. I don’t really care about expected goals, possession, we had 0.01 percent chance of winning the WC at the outset, now we have 0.03 but we are going to try and destroy statistics.”
And it is clear 47-year-old Regragui believes his World Cup mission is not just for Morocco but for an entire continent.
“We are not here to kid around and we are not tired,” Regragui said as he prepared for the showdown with France in the Al Bayt Stadium. “We are going to dig deep and want to rewrite the history books for our brothers in North Africa, for Egyptians, for Libyans and all those who dreamed of seeing an African team in a semi-final.
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“I don’t want to wait another 40 years to give another African team a chance. Yes, I am a bit crazy, a bit of a dreamer.
“We are determined to rewrite the history books - we want Africa to be on top of the world. You may say I am mad, crazy, but a bit of craziness is good.”
While Morocco are clear underdogs, they do have a star player who knows what it should take to stop Kylian Mbappe. Achraf Hakimi plays alongside Mbappe at Paris St Germain and will be in a direct fight with his club team-mate on France’s left flank.
Regragui said: “He (Hakimi) knows Mbappe better than me, he trains with him on a daily basis so he is better placed to know Kylian. Hakimi is one of the best players in the world in his position and it will be a great duel.
“They are both champions and both will be going for it, hell for leather. I have no doubt Hakimi will be on top form to try and get the better of his friend.
“I am not going to set up any tactical plan to counter Mbappe. Unfortunately for us, France has other good players. There is Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann is on top of his game. If we focus just on Mbappe, that would be a mistake.”
In excess of 20,000 Moroccan fans are expected to be inside the Al Bayt Stadium with a lot of neutrals also backing the North Africans. And Regragui is sure that will inspire his players, saying: “We aren’t satisfied with reaching the semi-finals and being the first African team to do that.
“That is why we are ready to give everything. We are focused on what we want to achieve. And when you have desire, commitment and the support of the crowd, you can win it.”
