Morocco aim to change African mentality towards World Cup: Coach

RABAT, Morocco

On the eve of their face-off against France in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals, Morocco is aspiring to make history by advancing to the final of the global tournament.

Addressing a press conference in the Qatari capital, Doha, Moroccan coach Walid Regragui said his team will seek to eliminate France from the competition during their Wednesday’s World Cup summit.

“Every time, people expected that our team will be eliminated, but we are still here,” Regragui said. “We dream of winning the World Cup.”

Regragui described his team’s match against France in the semifinals as a “tough” game.

"We will continue to play with ambition and will continue to make surprises,” the defiant coach said. “Why don’t we qualify for the World Cup final?”

The 47-year-old coach said his Atlas Lions team seeks to change the mentality of the Africans towards the World Cup, adding that the Moroccan team has showed to the whole world that an African football team can reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.

“We came here to change the prejudices surrounding the African continent,” he said. “Many believe that we have had enough by reaching the semi-finals, but this is not our opinion.”

Morocco became the third team from outside Europe and South America to qualify for the semi-finals of the World Cup, after the United States in 1930 and South Korea in 2002.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report