In last night’s Africa Cup of Nations opener, Morocco cruised to a 2-0 win over Comoros. After the match, Morocco manager Walid Regragui stated that although the team’s star player Achraf Hakimi did not feature, he "will play at some point" in this tournament.
“As expected, the opening match is always tough for the host nation. There were high expectations for this game, and there was a grand celebration before kick-off. The dressing room was also full of anticipation. We have been preparing for this Africa Cup of Nations for two years, so there was a lot of pressure before the game. Today, we showed great fighting spirit, which is what we have been doing for the past year and a half.”
“Hakimi didn’t play today, but we need Hakimi because he is Africa’s best player and one of the best in the world. No team in the world can afford to lose their best player.”
“To be honest, we would have performed even better today if Hakimi had been on the pitch. Hakimi’s playing style is different from that of Mazraoui. Mazraoui is also an excellent player; I have always thought he is as good as Hakimi, just with strengths in other areas.”
“Hakimi is on his way back, and his return is faster than expected. I really hope he can make a comeback in this tournament. We don’t want him to only play 20 minutes or one game, so we will monitor his condition over the next 48 hours to see if he can start in Friday’s match against Mali.”
"As I said before, will he start? We won’t know until the last minute, but in any case, we are confident that he will participate in this Africa Cup of Nations, and we are eagerly looking forward to his return."
