Walid Regragui urged Morocco to prove it is a “great football nation” by winning the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil, where they face Senegal in the final on Sunday.
Tanzania, Cameroon and Nigeria have all been swept aside in the knockout stages en route to Morocco’s second AFCON showpiece, and first since 2004.
Regragui’s side lost their last final 2-1 to Tunisia more than twenty years ago, but Wednesday’s victory over Nigeria in the last four on penalties has the country dreaming of glory again.
“I think we deserve to be in the final. We have played against top teams like Mali, Cameroon and Nigeria and now we are facing one of the best teams,” said Regragui.
“Eventually people will accept that Morocco is actually a big football nation. But to take the next step we need to win titles, so Sunday’s match is very important in terms of our history.”
Pre-tournament expectations were high for the hosts, although Regragui says even an early exit would not have changed his mentality.
“Even if we had been eliminated in the first round, it wouldn’t have stopped me from believing in myself and telling myself I’m a good coach,” Regragui said.
“What I have done in the past cannot be taken away from me. I don’t expect people to give me anything. I don’t claim to be the best. The most important thing is that Morocco is in the final.”
Continuing preparations for our national team before the final against Senegal
Targeted preparations prior to the Final against Senegal #DimaMaghreb pic.twitter.com/9B067s4P4d
— Team Morocco (@EnMaroc) January 16, 2026
Senegal advanced past Sudan and Mali before their 1-0 win over Egypt in the semi-finals to become the competition’s showpiece for the third time in the past four editions.
Pape Thiaw also has a wealth of experience to call on, with goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, captain Kalidou Koulibaly and midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye some of the standouts.
However, Koulibaly will be suspended for the final, while former Liverpool star Sadio Mane has already said it will be his last match at the tournament.
“I am a soldier of the nation and I try to give my all every day, both in training and in matches,” Mane said.
“But that is not the most important thing for me. The most important thing is to bring this cup to Dakar.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Senegal – Sadio Mane
Mane has created the most chances (18) at this tournament, all of which came from open play. That’s the most chances a player has ever created from open play (since 2010) at a single AFCON.
The former Liverpool star has scored four goals in the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations, twice as many as any other Senegal player, and he could become only the fifth player in AFCON history to score five or more knockout goals (excluding the third-place play-off finish).
Morocco – Brahim Diaz
Diaz could become the first player to score in one Africa Cup of Nations match in six different matches, as well as the first Moroccan player to win the Golden Boot outright, having scored five times in six matches so far.
Furthermore, after scoring in the last 16 against Tanzania and in the quarter-finals against Cameroon, Diaz could become the second Moroccan player to score three goals in the knockout rounds at a single edition of AFCON, after Youssef Mokhtari in 2004.
MATCH PREDICTION – SENEGAL WIN
This will be the first ever Africa of Nations match between Senegal and Morocco, although the Opta supercomputer backed Thiaw’s side as favorites ahead of the match.
Indeed, Sunday will mark the first final in the competition to pit two teams against each other for the first time since 1996, when South Africa defeated Tunisia 2-0.
Senegal are the form team at this tournament as no side has played (24) or won (17) more matches than them at AFCON since the 2019 edition.
The Lions of Teranga have also scored the most goals (38) and kept the most clean sheets (16) in this period, although Morocco come into this match in fine form.
Morocco has kept four consecutive clean sheets at AFCON for the first time, with only Ivory Coast (six in 2012 and five in 1992) and Cameroon (five in 2002) ever recording more consecutive shutouts in a single edition.
And Senegal will be aware of their struggle on the big occasion. Having failed to score a single goal in the previous three AFCON finals, Senegal is the only team to have played in more than one final of the competition and never scored.
OPTA CHANCE OF WINNING
Senegal – 41.8%
Morocco – 32%
Draw – 26.2%
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