Morocco coach, Walid Regragui has revealed that they focused more on blocking Alex Iwobi from supplying the passes to Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen during the semi-final match against Nigeria on Wednesday.
He said this was part of his team’s plan to stop Nigeria during the game, which ended in a penalty shootout win.
He said blocking Iwobi, Nigeria’s key midfielder, was important in their victory.
Even though Iwobi did not provide an assist since the Super Eagles’ first game against Tanzania, the Fulham midfielder was important in helping create most of the goals for Nigeria before the semifinals.
Eric Chelle’s team had trouble moving forward, and their main forwards, Osimhen and Lookman, did not get much chance to play because they did not receive many passes.
When asked at the post-match press conference about how he stopped Nigeria, Regragui told reporters: “Tactically, we can’t share all the details. The plan was to stop their playmaker Iwobi, and he was looking to pass the ball to Osimhen and Lookman.
“It was a bit tough because it needed a lot of energy. We needed to push harder, keep moving back to stay organized, get the ball back when passes were bad, and then move fast to start attacking.
“We did that a few times, especially on Achraf Hakimi’s side, because Mazraoui is right-footed, so we couldn’t make more chances there.
“Today, we had a complete game. For some players, I really admire them.”
Nigeria will play against Egypt in the third place playoff on Saturday at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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