AFCON (Group A/ Matchday 2): Match vs Mali to be a Balanced Encounter – Morocco’s Head Coach

“Mali have one of the best teams in Africa and a strong desire to win. It will be a real battle. Our objective is to secure all three points and qualify for the Round of 16,” Regragui said during a press conference ahead of the match, scheduled for Friday at 9 p.m. local time at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.

“After our 2–0 win over Comoros in the opening match, we are now getting into the heart of the competition against a Malian side we’re very familiar with,” he added.

Regragui also warned of the challenge posed by Mali’s national team, Les Aigles (“The Eagles”). “It will be a tough game. They have strong character and technical quality. It’s a team I appreciate, capable of exploiting opportunities, which means they could leave spaces that we will try to use,” he added.

“We have been managing and shouldering the pressure for a year and a half. No match is ever won at halftime. Despite sterile possession, the opponent often ends up exhausted,” Regragui argued, noting that the squad is complete except for Roman Saïss, who is injured.

“Apart from Romain, who felt a slight muscle strain, Hamza Igamane and Achraf Hakimi, who are recovering, the group is ready. We will make the right decisions for Achraf tomorrow,” the national coach said.

Regarding the young defender Abdelhamid Aït Boudlal, Regragui assured that the Stade Rennais player has “enormous talent.”

“In his development, there have been ups and downs. He’s a gem for the future. I had selected him for the national team more than a year ago when he was playing for Rennes’ reserve team. Today, everyone is asking for him to be a starter. We’re going to support him,” he said.

Moreover, Regragui highlighted the role of Azzeddine Ounahi, believing that when the Girona player “is at the top of his game, Morocco becomes a great team.”

MAP: 25 December 2025

With a total of 1716.34 points, Morocco is 0.54 point shy of reentering the Top 10 following a 27-year absence (April 1998). The Atlas Lions are hot on the heels of Croatia, still 10th with 1,716.88 points.

With five wins and one draw for the national A’ team, which took home the FIFA Arab Cup a few days ago in Qatar, Morocco has improved its score by 3.22 points compared to the November rankings.

The December 2025 edition of the FIFA Men’s World Ranking, the last for the year, comes after 42 new games, notably those played in the Arab Cup. It therefore did not take into account Morocco’s victory over the Comoros the day before in the opening match of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON 2025) in Rabat.

In the Top 10, Spain (1st) ends 2025 atop the rankings after overtaking Argentina (2nd) in September’s qualifying matches, while France (3rd) completes the 2025 podium. England (4th), Brazil (5th), Portugal (6th), the Netherlands (7th), Belgium (8th), and Germany (9th) also staying in the Top 10.

The top 33 spots remain unchanged with only three teams managing to climb more than one place: Jordan (64th, +2), runners-up in the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup against Morocco, Vietnam (107th, +3) and Singapore (148th, +3).

Kosovo (80th, unchanged) stood out by earning 89.02 points—the highest total among all teams—thanks to a record of seven wins and two draws in its ten matches played this year. Kosovo is also the team that has recorded the most spectacular progress over the last twelve months, climbing 19 ranks.

Other nations that have done well in 2025 include Norway (29th, unchanged), which has accumulated 68.70 points, and Suriname (123rd, unchanged), which has climbed 15 spots since the December 2024 rankings. In addition, 12 teams have advanced 10 to 14 places.

At the end of 2025, the distribution of the top 50 teams by confederation has remained virtually unchanged compared to the end of the previous year: 26 teams in the Top 50 are from UEFA, seven from CONMEBOL (-1), seven from CAF, five from CONCACAF (+1), five from AFC and none from OFC.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of Sunday’s match against Comoros at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, which kicks off the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) scheduled to take place from December 21 to January 18 in Morocco, Regragui emphasized that “we are aware of the responsibility that falls on us. Our goal is to win the trophy and the players are ready to have a good AFCON.”

Discussing the match against Comoros, the national coach emphasized that “every match is important because we represent Morocco. We have to manage our emotions because there are high expectations, but the players must remain calm, confident, humble and respectful of their opponents.”

Regarding the injuries of certain players on the national team, Regragui noted the need to “adapt to difficulties and last-minute injuries to players,” adding that “the national team has been preparing for these uncertainties for a long time.”

“Every player who is selected will be ready and will do the job,” he insisted.

“Today, we have the determination and conviction that we can win. We want to stay on this path so that Moroccan football remains at the top level and we can compete for titles,” said Regrargui.

“Being the favorites in this competition means that expectations will be high,” he explained, adding that “we have positive pressure that pushes us to better manage our effort, our game, and our mental state.”

Regarding Achraf Hakimi’s participation, Regragui emphasized the player’s efforts to recover, saying that the PSG defender is “an example to everyone given the work he has done to be present at the Africa Cup of Nations.”

According to him, “all the ingredients are there to win, namely motivation, unity and the crowd,” noting that “we have difficult games during which we could suffer, but it only makes the win feel better.”

“The opening match is always difficult for the host country. There was a lot of tension. We have been preparing for this AFCON for two years. This victory was beneficial for us as well as for the fans. We will grow stronger as the tournament progresses,” Regragui stressed at the post-match press conference.

“We corrected our mistakes in the second half. We knew the Comorians would crack after enduring a lot of pressure,” he noted, describing El Kaabi’s goal as “extraordinary.”

“We played to our strengths and with the right mindset. We stayed focused even though we faced difficulties in the first half,” he added, noting that the Comoros team will pose problems for other opponents.

Thanks to this victory, Morocco (3 points) temporarily move to the top of Group A.

The second group match will pit Mali against Zambia on Monday at the Mohammed V Sports Complex in Casablanca.

The first goal of the match was scored by Brahim Diaz in the 55th minute, before Ayoub El Kaabi doubled the lead with a spectacular acrobatic overhead kick in the 74th minute.

Thanks to this victory, Morocco provisionally takes the lead in Group A with 3 points.

The second match in the group will see Mali take on Zambia on Monday (3:00 p.m. Moroccan time) at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca.