CHAN: Sektioui hails Morocco’s mental strength after Zambia success

Morocco head coach Tarik Sektioui praised his squad for their ability to recover from the Kenya defeat and floor Zambia 3-1 to reignite their TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) campaign at Nyayo National Stadium on Thursday.

Goals from Mohamed Hrimat, Oussama Lamlaoui, and Sabir Bougrine secured the Group A victory keeping the Atlas Lions’ quarter-final hopes alive after their defeat to CHAN co-hosts Kenya.

“We have an admirable squad that I salute for their professionalism and their mental strength. We ‘called on them for help’ for this CHAN and they responded despite the lack of preparation and the complicated situation. Despite everything, their level is good and we collected six points,” Sektioui said after the game as quoted by CAFOnline.com.

“I am happy with this victory, and happy with the playing time some players have received. I warmly salute them. In times of difficulty, they have shown themselves to be great. Psychologically, mentally…”

He added: “It was not easy to approach a match against a team that had suffered two defeats in a row. We expected a reaction. The tactical discipline and technical quality of our players played a role. We missed many opportunities but we have moved forward since the defeat against Kenya. This time the danger came from everywhere in our attack.”

“The players were mentally strong and managed this match well to achieve this deserved victory,” he stressed. “The players showed up. I salute their determination and their will to win.”

On the overall performance of the game, he said: “We had a good start and a good finish to the match. The game was very difficult because Zambia’s attacking team was threatening on several occasions.”

“The players, thanks to their individual qualities and tactical discipline, were there in this match,” he noted, adding, “we missed a lot of chances, but we were better in zone three compared to the last match against Kenya.”

The result left Morocco in a far stronger position ahead of their final group fixture, while Zambia’s third successive loss ended their slim qualification chances.