World Cup 2026 (Q): Walid Regragui criticizes his team's attitude against Niger

Despite Morocco's 2-1 victory over Niger on the occasion of the 5th matchday of the World Cup 2026 qualifiers, Walid Regragui pointed out the poor performance of his team. The Moroccan coach targeted the entire Atlas Lions locker room.

Morocco comfortably leads Group E with 12 points on the board. The Atlas Lions widened the gap by defeating their runner-up, Niger, with a score of 12 points. The Moroccan team achieved this victory with difficulty. Indeed, it was the Mena who first opened the scoring before the Atlas Lions took the lead towards the end of the match.

After the match, Walid Regragui highlighted his team's inability to create chances and find weaknesses in the opponent. The 49-year-old coach considers this performance from Morocco unworthy of the team's status. Very furious, he issued an ultimatum to his locker room:

No one's place is guaranteed. There are other players on the bench who can take the place of some players today. Anyone who doesn't give their all will be benched. After the match, I spoke passionately in the locker room. Some statuses are starting to be questioned, and the substitutes are proving satisfactory. This is the mindset I want to see.

Morocco will play their next World Cup 2026 qualifying match against Tanzania on March 25.

Lydiane N'Po |

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Sports journalist specializing in African football, covering football news, exclusive stories and digital content for passionate fans of the game.