Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi conceded that France were worthy winners in their FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final encounter.
The Atlas Lions fell 2-0 to Didier Deschamps’ side at the Boston Stadium on Thursday night.
Kylian Mbappe recovered from a first-half penalty miss to score his eighth goal of the finals, before setting up Ousmane Dembele for his fifth as the two-time champions booked a last-four meeting with either Belgium or Spain.
Ouahbi Admits France Superiority
Ouahbi acknowledged that his side were up against a formidable opponent.
“We have to admit we faced a very good opponent. We struggled a lot in the first half, and [Yassine] Bounou’s penalty save kept us in the game,” Ouahbi was quoted by FIFA.com.
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“We defended better in the second half and were calmer in possession. In the end, it was an individual piece of brilliance from [Kylian] Mbappe.
“It was a difficult feeling, but we have to keep working. We need more options on the bench when we have injuries, absences and fatigue, but of course we’re disappointed.”
Bright Path Ahead For Atlas Lions
Despite Morocco’s elimination, Ouahbi remained optimistic about his team’s future, insisting they have a bright path ahead.
“The future will be bright if we continue like this, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t want to win today. Of course we wanted to win today. We did everything we could to win, but we faced a very difficult opponent,” added Ouahbi.
“It’s a disappointment, of course, but we’ll keep working for the future. We know we represent more than just one country. We represent the Moroccan people, and many countries across Asia and Africa. Many people see themselves in this team, and we’ll keep working to win titles in the future.”
By Adeboye Amosu
