The technician of MoroccoWalid Regragui, bet that Brahim Díaz could be the team’s great catalyst in the search for the African Cup of Nations titleon Sunday (18), something that the country hasn’t won in almost 50 years.
Díaz is the tournament’s top scorer, with five goals in six matches, but it was mainly due to his dribbling, his movement and his insistence on disturbing the opposing defenses that he established himself as one of the main highlights throughout the last month of competition.
The , scheduled for Sunday (18), in Rabat, and the responsibility falls on the Real Madrid midfielder, who is trying to lead the hosts to their second continental title in history — the only one was won in 1976.
“His mentality is strong, he plays with great desire”, said Regragui about Díaz, during a press conference this Saturday (17). “He knows he needs to make a difference. The most important thing is the way he organizes the offensive phases”, he added.
Brahim Díaz played for Spain at the beginning of his career, but, the son of a Moroccan father, he chose to change his sporting nationality two years ago.
“I’m happy because, three years ago, there was a plan for him to come and play for Morocco. There were people who wanted to have him here, he felt he could help us win titles and compete for the , and that’s what happened”, added Regragui.
Favorite?
Current leader of the African ranking, Morocco at times seemed to feel the weight of favoritism throughout the tournamentbut put in convincing performances in the quarter-finals and semi-finals to reach the decider.
“It will be a question of managing emotions. The one under pressure is Morocco. We are playing at home, but we cannot put pressure on ourselves”, assessed the .
“The players understand that they need to relax. That’s my only fear. We’re going to face a team that’s used to playing in finals, confident. Senegal is strong. It’ll be a grand final, it’s 50-50. Maybe we’ll have 51% with the support of the fans,” said Regragui.
The coach also acknowledged that, after decades of missed opportunities, coming so close to the title makes Sunday’s victory a must for Morocco.
“We have been a winning team for some time. We don’t want to let this chance slip away”, he concluded.
