Walid Regragui - Hakim Ziyech - Selim Amallah - Abderrazak Hamdallah - morocco 2022goal

2022 World Cup: Morocco hope to emulate Renard's team after Saudi Arabia beat Messi's Argentina

  • Saudi Arabia upset Argentina on Tuesday
  • Morocco takes on Croatia on Wednesday
  • Regragui insists Atlas Lions can impress

WHAT HAPPENED: Al-Akhdar defied the odds on Tuesday and claimed a 2-1 win against the South American side.

Lionel Messi had scored first for the South Americans, but the unheralded side replied through Saleh Alshehri and Salem Al-Dawsari.

Morocco are now hoping to draw inspiration from Saudi Arabia and coach Regragui is hopeful his side can silence Croatia.

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WHAT HE SAID: "At the time we had finished our training session, and we saw that Argentina was trailing one goal to two," Regragui told the media.

"It's great to see a country such as Saudi Arabia beating Lionel Messi's Argentina. This actually shakes things up on an international stage because actually, football belongs to everyone and everyone. You do have Fifa ankings and you do have football rankings, but actually, you should respect all football players, world championships, or leagues. I hope that we're able to do the same as Saudi Arabia."

Messi Saudi Arabia World CupGetty

AND WHAT IS MORE: The former defender has also lauded the former Atlas Lions' coach who masterminded the Saudi Arabia victory.

"Obviously it goes without saying that Herve Renard is someone I respect as a friend and I really like chatting with him. He's got a very strong character. He knows really how to get the best out of his guys," Regragui continued.

"I was really happy because actually, we used to coach together, and at the end of coaching, we were training."

20221122 Herve RenardGetty Images

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Morocco have won just once in their last 10 World Cup games, drawing twice and losing seven times.

They are playing Croatia in the competition for the first time but previously played in December 1996 when they met at the Hassan II Trophy competition. The match ended 2-2 and Croatia managed a 7-6 win after a penalty shootout.

WHAT NEXT: After playing Croatia, the North African side will play Belgium before winding down their Group F matches against Canada.

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