West Ham defender Nayef Aguerd has disclosed that Morocco must end their impressive outing at the 2022 World Cup by winning the third-place match today.
Despite the frustration of missing the quarter-final victory over Portugal and withdrawing late from the starting lineup for the semi-final against France through illness, the 26-year-old has no regrets ahead of Morocco’s third/fourth-place play-off against Croatia in Qatar on Saturday.
He insisted that winning the game will create a big history for Morocco and Africa as a whole.
“The emotions we expected together are indescribable,” he posted in a social media post on Friday. “They will remain forever engraved in each of us whether we are a player, a staff member or a fan.
“We wanted to pursue this daydream and raise the flag of the country we are so proud of.
“Unfortunately, we could not climb this last step, despite all the efforts made to get there. Football is like this and there can only be one winner.”
Meanwhile, with the 2023 AFCON Africa Cup of Nations to qualify for, Aguerd is targeting further success in the red and green of Morocco.
“I wanted, once again, to thank everyone for their support and for all the love you have given us during the World Cup,” he continued.
“We have certainly made history, but we don’t want to stop there and want to continue this way which should not be an achievement without a future.”
