Morocco coach, Herve Renard has admitted his side “suffered” against Spain because of their “exceptional” players.
Renard pointed out the Spanish team is a mix of Real Madrid and Barcelona stars, and his players should be commended for their sensational performance in their last group game that ended in a 2-2 draw. “We suffered, as every team that plays against Spain suffers because their line-up is a mix of Real Madrid and Barcelona players – all exceptional,” said Renard.
“But I think our players, the whole team, should be commended for this game and the entire World Cup. We’ve lacked a bit of experience and there were games we should have had better results in. But we’ve shown that we can take on two of the best teams in the world, Portugal, and Spain, and represent Morocco well.”
Renard also wished the two African teams (Nigeria and Senegal) likely progress to knockout stages luck. He added: “We will keep this World Cup in our minds. It was a magical moment for us and I want to wish good luck to all the teams in the last 16, and particularly the two African teams [Senegal and Nigeria] trying to make it through.” Khalid Boutaib and Youssef En-Nesyri put Morocco in the lead on two occasions in their final match of the World Cup, in which Iago Aspas scored a stoppage-time equalizer to earn Spain a place in last-16.
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