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Eternal: “We can defeat anyone”

Moroccan left wing Ezz Abdi confirmed, on Saturday, that his team is facing the 2022 World Cup round of 16 match with great confidence, and that after its historic qualification for that round, he feels he can “beat anyone.” “We believe in ourselves and believe that we can beat any team,” said the player, who is on loan from Barcelona to Osasuna. “We make an effort and work hard, and if God is on our side, we will win.”

Abdi describes his country’s qualification to the Round of 16 as “historic” for the first time since 1986, when Morocco became the first African team to qualify from that round. He commented, “After 36 years, we made history and celebrated it. We celebrate it in the locker room, we dance, we lived some unforgettable days, it’s something indescribable.”

And his teammate Zakaria Abu Khalal, who plays for the French club Toulouse, said: “I am very happy that the Arab countries support each other, I was happy that Saudi Arabia beat Argentina and I think many Arab fans were happy that we beat Belgium and Canada. It is good for Muslims to coexist with each other.”

The player stressed that qualifying for the round of 16 should not be the end of his Qatari adventure. “We’ve gone to the next round but we’re not going to stop here, hopefully we can get through a few more rounds, hopefully we can go far,” he said.

Abu Khalal pointed out that the new coach, Walid Al-Rakraki, who replaced the Bosnian Frenchman Wahid Khalilodzic last August, introduced tactical innovations to the team, which were well received by the group. “Since his arrival, he implemented a new tactic, a new set-up, which is going very well for us, we have adapted,” said the Toulouse player. He said Morocco’s game has strengthened and is now a defensive bulwark. “All the opponents feel that it is difficult to beat us and score goals. We are very excited to go far,” he said. Two days after the victory over Canada, which qualified it for the round of 16, and after a day of rest, Morocco returned to training.

Sevilla striker Youssef Al-Nusairi did not participate in the preliminary exercises for the session, which was the only one that was open to the press, and received the attention of a physiotherapist in a musical group. Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech also ran on the sidelines of the group, while PSG defender Achraf Hakimi as the bulk of the group took part in the group session.