Hakimi. Credit: wikimedia.
How is it like to keep advancing at this World Cup from the group stage and now to the last 16?
We have never been in this kind of situation at the World Cup before because, in all the games that we played previously, we usually led. But the last ones were different. We trailed, but I am happy with the character we displayed as a team because that can make things happen and it shows we know how to react in situations like this. Of course, everyone is putting in the extra effort to see us win. We are feeling good, but we try to stay humble because that is what helps us work in the best way. Like what we did at the 2022 World Cup, we are focusing on every game as it comes and not thinking about how far we are going to go. The success will come, and the team is focused on that.
After the 2022 World Cup achievement, how do you see the expectations from Moroccans this time?
Of course, when people see you at the top, they don’t want to see you go down. But ultimately, there have been lots of efforts by the King and the FA President for Moroccan football, especially in terms of facilities. So, it has been easier to perform at our best and we want to say thank you to them. Football in Morocco will continue to be successful and, with the way people are talking now, it wasn’t like this before. So we have to keep going and keep our focus to make all Moroccans and Arabs proud because I feel they supported us so much in 2022. Not only Arabs, but Africans as a whole as well.
