No room for praise yet, we want World Cup title, says Morocco coach Ouahbi

FOXBOROUGH: Morocco will not be wasting time on premature praise for their World Cup run ahead of their quarter-final against France, with any stock-taking to be done at the end of the competition, coach Mohamed Ouahbi said on Wednesday.

The game on Thursday is a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semi-final, when France ended Morocco’s historic run in Qatar, but this time the North Africans are no longer the surprise outsiders but a confident side aiming for the title.

“We will take stock at the end of the tournament,” Ouahbi told a press conference. “I will not say anything now because we can have more. We are not going to listen to people who will say ‘what you have done up to now is wonderful’.

“France are favourites but we will do everything possible to win tomorrow and qualify for the semi-finals,” Ouahbi said. “I don’t like this feeling ‘we have done well to get here and all the rest is bonus’. No, the bonus is to win the World Cup. This is how we have come this far and we will go further.”

France, world champions in 2018 and finalists in 2022, edged past Paraguay in the round of 16 with a scrappy 1-0 win courtesy of a Kylian Mbappe penalty. The France captain has scored seven goals in the tournament, second behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi on eight.

Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Bradley Barcola provide France with one of the most dangerous forward lines ever seen at the World Cup.

Morocco eased through their group stage, before knocking out the Netherlands and co-hosts Canada, and confirming their status as serious title contenders.

“It is not a question of assets,” Ouahbi said. “The Moroccan side is evolving as is France. The key is to play the match without regrets. There are things to improve tomorrow. We have to play at 2,000% and not think what we have done up to now is not bad.”