Khalid Tawalbeh
Doha
On the eve of their World Cup opener against Croatia, the Moroccan national football team were a confident lot despite being aware that their opponents were the runners-up in the previous edition of the tournament.
"We are eagerly awaiting the whistle. We have prepared ourselves strongly for this important confrontation,” Moroccan coach Walid Regragui said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Regragui said Croatia had some special players like their captain Luka Modric, the Spanish Real Madrid midfielder. But the Moroccan side is formidable too.
The coach underscored the importance of Hakim Ziyach, who plays for Chelsea. "The Moroccan national team needs Hakim Ziyach in tomorrow’s match, and I am glad that he is back to the national team and everyone in Morocco is waiting for what he will offer to his country”.
He said: "We also have many big players like Sofian Boufal, Nasir Mazraoui and Ashraf Hakimi.”
Morocco defender Romain Saïss highlighted the need to play with great caution against a team like Croatia. "It’s different when we talk about the World Cup, and undoubtedly we play under pressure and we have some injuries that were not good for us, but we have a lot of determination.”
He said the team’s morale is high. "The opening match of the World Cup is very important and we will work to deliver a performance that satisfies the Moroccan fans”.
Both Regragui and Saiss praised the Saudi team for their historic victory against Argentina.
Saïss said he had sent a short message to Saudi coach Renard before the match, wishing him success. "I am happy with what he has already achieved, and we hope that we will be able to follow this path and snatch an important victory tomorrow”.
Morocco is participating in the World Cup for the sixth time, and the second in a row. They will aim to repeat the performance in 1986 when they reached the round of 16 and go further.
Morocco are in Group F with Belgium, Canada, and Croatia.