FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts — Morocco's coach Mohamed Ouahbi emphasized that there is no room for premature praise despite the team's impressive World Cup journey so far. Speaking ahead of their quarter-final match against France on Thursday, Ouahbi said any evaluation would be reserved until the end of the tournament.
The upcoming match is a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semi-final, where France ended Morocco's historic run. However, Ouahbi highlighted that Morocco is no longer an underdog but a confident contender aiming for the title.
"We will take stock at the end of the tournament," Ouahbi told a press conference. "We are not going to listen to people who will say 'what you have done up to now is wonderful.'"
He added, "France are favourites but we will do everything possible to win tomorrow and qualify for the semi-finals."
Ouahbi rejected the notion that reaching this stage is already an achievement, stating, "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."
Morocco advanced through the group stage and eliminated the Netherlands and co-hosts Canada, establishing themselves as serious title contenders. Ouahbi urged his team to give their maximum effort, saying, "We have to play at 2,000 per cent and not think what we have done up to now is not bad."
France, the 2018 world champions and 2022 finalists, narrowly defeated Paraguay 1-0 in the round of 16 thanks to a penalty by captain Kylian Mbappe, who has scored seven goals in the tournament, second only to Argentina's Lionel Messi.
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