Walid Regragui Salutes Morocco Effort After World Cup Semi-Final Defeat

Following Wednesday's heartbreaking 2-0 semi-final loss to France, Morocco's fairytale World Cup run came to an end. Coach Walid Regragui had nothing but admiration for his team's efforts. "We gave it our best; that's what matters most." Regragui, whose squad surprised Spain and Portugal in the previous two rounds, remarked, "The guys battled to the very end." Regragui claimed that France's early advantage, which came in the fifth minute of play, had a significant influence on the game.

If there is anything I regret about this game, it would be giving up that goal so fast because it gave the French squad greater assurance to continue with their strategy, he added.

Morocco has advanced in the Qatar tournament by winning games despite frequently turning over possession.

At the Al Bayt stadium, however, despite having 51 percent of the ball, Regragui's squad was unable to get past the French defence.

We promised to seize the ball if it was given to us. The Morocco coach said, "We did that, but in the first half, we made too many technical errors.

We were more shrewd, gave away less balls, and created more difficulties for them in the second half, giving us plenty of opportunities, but we lacked decisiveness in the last 30 metres.

"We wanted to score and raise some questions for them," But because of their skill in attacking, we were aware that we may be punished at any time, which is exactly what occurred with the second goal.

Regragui had to contend with several injury-related issues. After the warm-up, center-back Nayef Aguerd left, and Achraf Dari took his place.

Romain Saiss, a fellow defender and captain who had been questioned, started but forced to leave the game in the 21st minute.

"We lost several players who gave it their all." Saiss and (Noussair) Mazraoui both performed despite being unwell. When the players give their all, I have nothing to say, Regragui stated.

"We had a chance to score, but a goal didn't materialise," I hope the Moroccans will pardon us. We had hoped to attend the championship game, but perhaps another time.

Regragui, a Frenchman by birth, was pleased with the way his side had performed on the grandest platform.

The most crucial thing was that we provided everything we had. The world has to know that Moroccan football exists and that we have attractive fans, thus the most essential thing is to have given the sport a positive reputation.

"We still have work to do to get to the very, very top level, to win a World Cup, but we are not far away."