Brahim Diaz celebrates after giving Morocco the lead in their Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final against Cameroon. Photo: AFP
RABAT:
Morocco coach Walid Regraghi predicts Brahim Diaz could be the catalyst for his side as they look to win the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in half a century on Sunday.
Diaz is the tournament’s top scorer with five goals in six games, but his dribbling and constant probing of opposition defenses has seen him emerge as one of the best players in the final month of the competition.
Morocco face Senegal in Rabat in Sunday’s final and the pressure is on the Real Madrid midfielder to deliver for the hosts, whose only previous success at the Nations Cup came in 1976.
“His mentality is strong, he plays with a lot of desire,” Regraghi said of Diaz in Saturday’s pregame press conference.
“He knows he has to make a difference. The most important thing is how he orchestrates the phases of the offense.”
Diaz is a former Spain international with a Moroccan father who was persuaded to change his international allegiance two years ago.
“I’m happy because three years ago there was a project to come and play for Morocco. There were people who wanted him here, he felt he could help us win titles and play in the World Cup and that’s what happened,” Regraghi added.
Top-seeded Morocco at times seemed to struggle under the weight of expectation, but put in convincing performances in both the quarter-finals and semi-finals to advance to the decider.
“It will be the management of emotions. The team under pressure is Morocco, we are playing at home, but we should not put pressure on ourselves.
“The players understand that they have to relax. That is my only fear. We will face a team that is used to playing in finals, that is confident.
“Senegal is strong. It will be a great final, it’s 50-50. We might have a 51% chance with the world,” the coach added.
Regraghi also admitted that coming so close to success after decades of missed opportunities for Morocco meant it was imperative to win Sunday’s final,
“We’ve been a winning team for a long time. We don’t want to lose this opportunity,” he said.
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