in Morocco, Walid Regragui succeeds Halilhodzic at the head of the selection
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Former Moroccan international Walid Regragui was appointed Wednesday, August 31, as coach of the national team three months before the World Cup in Qatar, succeeding Vahid Halilhodzic dismissed on August 11. “We are all behind Mr. Walid Regragui in his new mission at the head of the national team… We wish him good luck and good courage”said Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) during a press conference in Rabat.
“The Moroccan public expects good results. We hope to do great things (…) We will give everything to make you happy ”, said Walid Regragui during his presentation to the press. Regragui, appointed for four years, will take charge of his first matches as coach in September with two friendlies scheduled against Chile and Paraguay.
In Qatar, the 46-year-old former Wydad Casablanca coach will have to meet the expectations of an entire football-loving nation and try to lead the selection as far as that of 1986, the first African team in history to reach a round of 16 of the World Cup.
He is the first Moroccan national coach since 2016, succeeding Franco-Bosnian Halilhodzic (2019-2022) and Frenchman Hervé Renard (2016-2019). “I currently have a short-term project, the objective being to prepare for the World Cup. I can’t change the base of the team that exists, but I will bring a touch or two.”explained Mr. Regragui.
“Have the level”
After earning his spurs as a coach with FUS Rabat between 2014 and 2020, Walid Regragui managed Qatari club Al-Duhail for a few months before joining Wydad Casablanca in 2021. With Wydad, he experienced a prosperous season by winning the African Champions League at the expense of the great Egyptian rival Al-Ahly and retaining the title of champion of Morocco.
Born in Corbeil-Essonne, this Franco-Moroccan played as a player for several French clubs (Toulouse, Ajaccio, Dijon, Grenoble) and was capped 45 times with the Atlas Lions.
The FRMF announced on August 11 its separation from coach Vahid Halilhodzic, in office for three years due to “differing points of view”. The Franco-Bosnian thus paid for his refusal to take over two Lions internationals, Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea) and Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern from Munich), two players who had in the past declined selection.
The arrival of Regragui bodes well for the probable return of these players. On this subject, the new coach underlined during the press conference that “every Moroccan player can join the national team, the most important thing is to have the level and show it on the field”.
In Qatar, Morocco, poured into group F, will face Croatia, Belgium and Canada.
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