France v Morocco: Walid Regragui says he will not make an 'anti-Kylian Mbappe plan' for World Cup semi-final
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ByEurosport
Published 13/12/2022 at 12:11 GMT
Around 20,000 Morocco fans are expected to descend on the Al Bayt Stadium as the national team take on reigning world champions France in their World Cup semi-final in Qatar on Wednesday night. Morocco boss Walid Regragui is dreaming big ahead of the historic clash. As well as thinking his side are capable of an upset, he is confident Achraf Hakimi will be able to contain Kylian Mbappe.
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Morocco boss Walid Regragui reveals he has not come up with a specific plan to stop Kylian Mbappe ahead of their World Cup semi-final showdown against the world champions.
Much of the build-up to England's 2-1 defeat to France in the quarter-finals was dominated by the battle between Mbappe and Kyle Walker on the flank, but Regragui say he is "not worried" just about the threat the PSG forward will pose against his club team-mate Achraf Hakimi.
"We won't make an anti-Mbappe plan because unfortunately, there isn't just him," Regragui told a news conference on Tuesday.
"When we know the level of Antoine Griezmann between the lines… but [Achraf] Hakimi is a big champion so I'm not worried.
"They are two champions, who won’t be giving away any gifts. Achraf is highly motivated to beat his friend."
Morocco have beaten Belgium, Spain and Portugal en route to a shock run to the semi-finals which has also seen them concede just one goal in the entire tournament.
Regragui say his side are not satisfied with the feat of becoming the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final and wants to put the continent "on top of the world".
"The further you get, the more difficult the games are," he said.
"We are playing the world champions with world-class players and a very good coach, possibly the best in the world.
"But we will show great desire and try to pull off an upset. Why not reach the final of the World Cup? We've come to this competition to change mindsets within our continent. If we say the semi-final is enough, I don't agree.
"We aren't satisfied with the semi-final and being the first African team to do that. We want to go further. Its's a knock-out game and when you have desire, commitment and the support of the crowd, you can win it.
"We have beaten some top sides. Before every match people thought we would get knocked out but we are still here. We are getting closer to our dreams and we will fight to get there.
"We are one of the four best teams in the world now and we want to reach the final. The best team, Brazil, is already knocked out. We are hungry.
"I don't know if it will be enough but we want Africa to be on top of the world. I know we are not favourites but we are confident.
"You might think that's crazy, but a bit of craziness is good."
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