Morocco might finally have found their straps at the Africa Cup of Nations, advancing to the semi-finals for the first time in 22 years after a 2-0 win over Cameroon on Friday and beginning to look like real prospects for a first title in 50 years.
Coach Walid Regragui labelled it one of their best performances since the last World Cup in Qatar where they became the first African country to reach the last four.
Morocco were the hot favorites going into the Cup of Nations but did not impress in their opening matches at the tournament, looking nervy and under the weight of expectation on them as the host country.
But in Friday’s quarter-final in Rabat they were bustling with intensity, aggressively pressing their opponent and continually winning possession and spending most of the match on the front foot, restricting Cameroon to only a handful of half chances.
“The first half was probably the best we’ve played since the World Cup,” the coach said.
“We quickly created opportunities; a lot of corners and our opening goal came from a set piece. Our win was deserved even though things evened out a bit in the second half."
Morocco were ahead as Ayoub El Kaabi’s header was brushed into the net off Brahim Diaz and they got a second goal in the 74th minute from Ismael Saibari.
It was a win furiously celebrated at the final whistle by the Morocco squad, showing their relief as they have felt a heavy burden of pressure since the tournament kicked off some three weeks ago.
Morocco have invested heavily in ensuring a showpiece tournament, putting their best foot forward ahead of their co-hosting of the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Spain.
It is supposed to go hand in hand with success for their team, who have been top ranked in Africa for some four years but have a long history of failure at the Cup of Nations.
They have won the tournament only once previously, in 1976.
Regragui has consistently referred to Morocco’s poor Cup of Nations record and warned both his players and the home support to temper expectation and show “humility”.
"We need to just keep going one game at a time. We have not done anything yet," he said after Friday’s win.
Morocco will find out the identity of their semi-final opponent on Saturday after Algeria and Nigeria’s meeting in Marrakesh.
