During the last two years under the orders of Walid RegraguiTHE Moroccan fans often accumulated frustration following performances against the low and middle blocks. Despite an arsenal that makes people jealous and a young generation full of talent, the Lions of the Atlas experienced a lot of difficulty when it came to crossing a well-stocked defensive curtain. This trend started during the friendlies and qualifications for the CAN 2025 (against teams like Mozambique, Niger, Benin, and Mauritania) then continued during the African Cup, against Tanzania and the Comoros.
On Tuesday, Moroccan supporters were impatient to discover the solutions proposed by Mohamed Ouahbiand the least we can say is that the technician responded on the pitch, despite some malfunctions which persist, particularly in terms of finishing. The diversification proposed on the offensive level resulted in four goals: a first from a set play, a second from a recovery in the opponent’s area, a third from a penalty (following a placed attack) and a fourth following a quick counter-attack. The Lions already operate differently under Ouahbi’s orders, they are more unpredictable, more vertical, but must always improve in efficiency. In the first half alone, the Nationals benefited from more than three face-to-face encounters with the opposing goalkeeper, but impulsiveness deprived the team of a strong score at half-time.
A more compact and more applied midline on the restart
With the arrival of very talented young players, with impressive physical abilities and already experienced in high-level competition, the Moroccan midfielder has gained in robustness and vision. In the first period, Ayoub Bouaddi demonstrated that he was called upon to assume great responsibilities, without bursting into the limelight. In the second half, Samir El Mourabet came to prove why he was one of the most coveted young midfielders in Europe. Formidable one-on-one, the young Strasbourg player brings an enormous volume of play, at the age of 21. Its verticality does not fail to impress as well, like the action of the 4th goal: ball cut 40 meters away, restart in favor of Brahim Diaz who hits the post and allows Al Kaâbi to score. This ability to recover and launch the offensive in a short time was sorely lacking in Walid Regragui’s team, which wasted a lot of time building after recovery. Even Sofyan Amrabat appeared sharper on Tuesday, alongside young talents who considerably raised the level in the midfield. It now remains to evaluate Ouahbi’s last line, a defense which was very little used against Madagascar, but which should suffer against Erling Haaland’s Norway next Sunday in the United States.
