Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi reacts to second straight AFCON qualifying win

Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi reacts to second straight AFCON qualifying win

The North Africans followed up their last Friday 2-0 victory over Gabon in their opening Group A fixture with another 2-0 win against Lesotho at the Free State Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.

Brahim Diaz opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before Azzedine Ounahi doubled Morocco's advantage in the 82nd minute, moving them to six points at the top of the group.

Despite the comfortable result, Ouahbi believes the qualifiers are also an opportunity to continue developing his squad and testing different tactical approaches.

"For us, the plan has not changed. It is to try to win all our matches," said Ouahbi as quoted by Morocco News.

"We have two matches against Niger coming up, and after that we will face Gabon again and then Lesotho at home. So, we will continue with the same plan.

"We know that we are a team with big ambitions. We also know that these matches help us prepare in the best possible way, by giving minutes to players who deserve them and trying certain things.

"The most important thing is that we play these matches, whoever the opponent is, with great seriousness. That is what we have been doing from the beginning, and we will continue in the same way."

Ouahbi was particularly pleased with Morocco's six-point haul from their opening two matches, although he identified areas that still require improvement.

"It was important for us to take six points from these two matches. We wanted to make a good start. There are many positive things, but there are also areas we still need to develop and improve," he continued.

"We controlled the game throughout, but on a pitch like this, we needed to be very precise technically, particularly with our passing, build-up play and approach toward the opponent's goal."

Morocco now sit top of Group A with six points, while Lesotho remain without a point after suffering their second consecutive defeat.
 

Related News

Eric Chelle reveals why Nigeria struggled in Guinea-Bissau

Eric Chelle reveals why Nigeria struggled in Guinea-Bissau

  • 3 hours ago

Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has acknowledged that Nigeria were unable to match Guinea-Bissau's intensity as their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign suffered a major setback on Tuesday.

AFCON qualifiers: Bafana Bafana target back-to-back wins against Eritrea

AFCON qualifiers: Bafana Bafana target back-to-back wins against Eritrea

  • 3 hours ago

Bafana Bafana will look to build on their winning start to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers when they face Eritrea in Cairo on Wednesday night.

Ghana captain takes responsibility after Black Stars surrender two-goal lead

Ghana captain takes responsibility after Black Stars surrender two-goal lead

  • 5 hours ago

Ghana captain Gideon Mensah believes the Black Stars must develop greater urgency and understanding of what it means to represent the national team after their disappointing defeat to Gambia.

AFCON 2027 qualifiers: Ivory Coast ease past Somalia, Egypt run riot, Nigeria humbled

AFCON 2027 qualifiers: Ivory Coast ease past Somalia, Egypt run riot, Nigeria humbled

  • 9 hours ago

In Tuesday's AFCON 2027 qualifiers, Egypt put five goals past South Sudan, Guinea-Bissau shocked Nigeria 3-0, and Ivory Coast beat Somalia.