The Atlas Lions of Morocco are facing an injury concern ahead of their semi-final encounter against France. The team may be handicapped by injuries, notably in defence, with West Ham centre-back Nayef Aguerd and former Wolves defender Romain Saiss both ruled out.
“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,” Morocco manager Walid Regragui said.
“No one is out for now, but no one is definitely in either. We will put out the best side possible.”
At an earlier news conference, Morocco manager Walid Regragui talked about the 20,000 Moroccan fans he hopes will watch his team play France on Wednesday at the Al Bayt Stadium, north of Doha.
According to the French news agency AFP, demand for the match has been so high that Royal Air Maroc has announced 30 additional return flights to transport ecstatic Morocco fans to Qatar.
It is a point that France manager Didier Deschamps is aware of, but he believes his players will be able to handle the environment inside the stadium.
With a quarter-final victory over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, Morocco became the first African country to reach the World Cup semi-finals, with Youssef En-Neysri beating Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa to a cross for the winner, not only for Walid Regragui’s side, but for the entire African continent.