“I’m glad to have this kind of match because it allows us to pinpoint our weaknesses, the areas we need to work on and get better at,” Regragui said during the post-match press conference.
According to the coach, “Bahrain offered strong opposition against Morocco,” noting that “some players thought the game would be easy. It was exactly the kind of difficult and hard-fought match I expected.”
“We didn’t play with our full strength because of injuries to some key players,” he explained, adding that “we have another challenge next Tuesday against Congo, where we’ll aim to break the world record for consecutive wins.”
Regragui praised his substitutes, saying, “We’re lucky to have a bench capable of changing the course and rhythm of a match.” He admitted, however, that “we faced a problem with tempo and penetration inside the penalty area.”
Bahrain’s coach, Dragan Talajic, also commended the Moroccan team. “You have a very good side with real quality,” he said. “The Moroccan national team was excellent on the pitch and created a lot of problems for us.”
“Playing against Morocco was a good lesson and a valuable opportunity for our players to learn because they faced a team that’s among the world’s elite,” he added.
The winning goal for the Atlas Lions came from Jawad El Yamiq in stoppage time (90+4’).
For their next match, Morocco will face Congo in the final round of the African World Cup qualifiers (Group E) on October 14 at the same stadium.
The Moroccan national team secured its qualification for the 2026 World Cup on September 5 in Rabat, after a 5–0 win over Niger in the seventh round of qualifiers.
Editorial team/le7tv