Walid Regragui, Mastermind of Greatest Arab Achievement in the World Cup

Walid Regragui

From the first moment, coach Regragui with Morocco worked on choosing the starting line-up for the national team from among dozens of distinguished players. An early elimination from a group that included Belgium, Croatia, and Canada was almost expected for Morocco, but Morocco drew with 2018 runners-up Croatia, then beat Belgium 2-0 and Canada 2-1 to end up top of the group. The team however didn't expect to go beyond their 1986 record, especially that their last-16 opponent was Spain.
Regragui clearly drilled his team on the importance of closing down spaces and the players followed his instructions to the letter. He was also realistic in dealing with each match, focusing on keeping his team well-organized and letting the result take care of itself. And even though he hasn't spent a long time with the team, Regragui succeeded in imposing his style on the team. They face Portugal in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

(QNA)