Mohamed Ouahbi was generally satisfied with the Atlas Lions’ 1-1 draw with Mali in a friendly on Sunday, October 4 in Tangier.
The result came after Morocco also beat Gabon 2-0 and Lesotho 2-0 during the international break, with the coach praising the attitude shown by his players throughout the gathering.
“I am very satisfied with the way they came to play. That is exactly what we were looking for. This is how we improve,” the national team coach said.
“We played a very serious match. I did not see my players take Mali lightly. I saw them focused and committed. We played a serious match. We must not think that we played with our foot off the pedal or at 50%. We drew against a good team while trying to win the match. We also have to accept that,” he added.
Ouahbi also stressed that the result did not mean there were no areas for the Atlas Lions to improve, particularly in attack and in front of goal.
“I think there is a lot to be satisfied with. Now, that does not mean there are not things we need to improve. What matters most to me in attacking terms and regarding the chances we missed are the intentions. That is what matters to me. We try to score, we apply ourselves and we try to make the pass that makes the difference.”
“On that point, I have nothing to say to the players. Honestly, the intentions were good. A player who shoots over the bar does not want to miss, he wants to score that goal. I am very satisfied with that. Defensively as well, of course, there are things to work on so that we can improve,” the coach continued.
For their third match of the international break, Ouahbi started some of his regular players, including Ayyoub Bouaddi and Ismael Saibari, while Achraf Hakimi and Brahim Díaz began the game on the bench.
Abdessamad Ezzalzouli opened the scoring in the 35th minute from the penalty spot after being fouled himself. Mali equalized through Gaoussou Diarra in the 77th minute.
