Morocco coach Ouahbi admits his team lacked ideas in the loss to France

Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi admitted that his side was made to suffer by France’s quality in a 0-2 World Cup quarterfinal defeat on Thursday, saying that the first half in particular exposed how difficult it can be to cope with a team of such attacking talent.

Morocco’s hopes of returning to the semifinal stage, where its historic 2022 run had ended, were extinguished by goals from Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele. Ouahbi acknowledged that France was the better side long before the breakthrough arrived.

“We wanted to go on, but the first half was very complicated,” the chief coach said. “The French side was very good on the ball, and it caused us a lot of problems on the sides (flanks). And when we had possession, we were not good in transition.”

Morocco spent much of the opening period pinned back by France’s speed and movement, with Yassine Bounou forced into a string of saves, including Mbappe’s penalty. Ouahbi felt that his side improved after the break, when it had more control of the ball and was able to transition better, but conceded that France’s superiority had already put the 2018 champion in control.

“We have to recognise that France has great players and that it could have scored before. We would have liked to see how it would have reacted if it had not scored. We lacked ideas and we have to accept this defeat,” said the head coach.

He was generous in his assessment of France, calling it one of the most complete sides in the tournament. “The French national team is beautiful, and it has had a great team for a long time,” Ouahbi said. “It has a federation that works well, it has reached the final twice (recently), and it has a lot of players who make the difference on the field. France does not get worked up; it has the quality to go to the final.”

Ouahbi rejected any suggestion that Morocco’s approach was cautious in the last-eight match, insisting that his team’s defensive line was shaped by the demands of the opponent. “I don’t set my team to defend high or low, we do it depending on the game. We were not able to defend high, but we were alright with a low block.”

For all the disappointment, Ouahbi sees the defeat as part of a longer journey. “It is difficult to talk about regrets when you are in a quarterfinal. We have a young team with talented players; we will continue to grow. We can only go forward from here”.