Walid Regragui signed off from the World Cup with a mission statement for the future. A pragmatist tactically but a dreamer when he spoke, the first manager to take an African country to a World Cup semi-final seemed to specialise in inspirational oratory.
As Morocco’s 2022 campaign ended in fourth place, their manager said: “We want to give our children the footballing DNA and one day we will be able to win the World Cup. You build that DNA gradually so that one day a team that can achieve the dream of all Africans. Morocco has shown African teams can go toe to toe.”