Morocco will NOT make a plan to stop Kylian Mbappe because ‘there isn’t just him’ to worry about, reveals boss Walid Regragui… as he insists Achraf Hakimi is desperate to ‘beat his friend’ and PSG team-mate in World Cup semi-final
Morocco manager Walid Regragui has revealed that there will be no special plan devised to stop Kylian Mbappe when they face France in their World Cup semi-final.
Much of the build-up to England’s 2-1 defeat by France in the quarter-finals was dominated by how Kyle Walker was the only defender able to stop Mbappe.
Ultimately, fans only got to see Mbappe and Walker in one footrace during the match while it was the PSG star who would walk away victorious, setting up Wednesday night’s encounter with Morocco.
Morocco boss Walid Regragui (right) reveals there is no plan to stop Kylian Mbappe (left)
And while England were able to keep Mbappe – who is the tournament’s current leading scorer with five goals – from scoring, Regragui has revealed he has no intentions of following the blueprint laid out by Gareth Southgate.
‘We won’t make an anti-Mbappe plan because unfortunately, there isn’t just him,’ Regragui said on Tuesday. ‘When we know the level of Antoine Griezmann between the lines… but [Achraf] Hakimi is a big champion so I’m not worried.’
Despite not coming up with a specialised plan to stop Mbappe, Regragui is confident right-back Hakimi, who is one of Mbappe’s closest friends at PSG, is good enough to handle him at the Al Bayt Stadium.
‘They are two champions, who won’t be giving away any gifts. Achraf is highly motivated to beat his friend,’ Regragui added.
Much of the build-up to England’s defeat by France was dominated by how Kyle Walker (left) was the only man to stop Mbappe (right) in their quarter-final meeting
Mbappe and France got the better of England and will now face Morocco in the semi-finals
Wednesday night’s game is already a huge achievement for Morocco, given how they’ve already made history as the first African team to reach the last four, having stunned Belgium, Spain and Portugal along the way.
However, Regragui insists they are not satisfied with a place in the semi-finals and will fight to achieve their ‘crazy’ dream of booking their spot in the final.
‘The further you get, the more difficult the games are. We are playing the world champions with world-class players and a very good coach, possibly the best in the world,’ he said.
‘But we will show great desire and try to pull off an upset. Why not reach the final of the World Cup? We’ve come to this competition to change mindsets within our continent. If we say the semi-final is enough, I don’t agree.
‘We aren’t satisfied with the semi-final and being the first African team to do that. We want to go further. Its’s a knock-out game and when you have desire, commitment and the support of the crowd, you can win it.
While there’s no plan for Mbappe, Regragui insists Achraf Hakimi is good enough to stop him
‘We have beaten some top sides. Before every match people thought we would get knocked out but we are still here. We are getting closer to our dreams and we will fight to get there.
‘We are one of the four best teams in the world now and we want to reach the final. The best team, Brazil, is already knocked out. We are hungry. I don’t know if it will be enough but we want Africa to be on top of the world. I know we are not favourites but we are confident.
‘You might think that’s crazy, but a bit of craziness is good.’
Morocco’s bid to reach the final could be scuppered by injuries, particularly at the back with West Ham centre-half Nayef Aguerd and former Wolves defender Romain Saiss major doubts.
Mbappe (left) and Morocco right-back Hakimi are close friends with both playing for PSG
Hakimi is desperate to stop his PSG team-mate and close friend to reach the World Cup final
Regragui added: ‘As everyone knows, we have a number of injuries but we have an excellent medical staff and they are working very hard and coming in with good news every day.
‘No one is out for now, but no one is definitely in either. We will put out the best side possible.’
Around 20,000 Moroccan fans are expected to descend on the Al Bayt Stadium.
QPR winger Ilias Chair said: ‘It’s a great honour to play for these fans and make them proud. They are the best fans in the world. We are out there to give our all and hopefully at the end, be the best.’
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