Morocco coach Walid Regraghi was just five months and 20 days old when the country won the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 1976.
In the second and final tournament decided by a mini-league, Morocco grabbed a 1-1 draw with Guinea to finish first in Ethiopia.
As the Moroccans celebrated their conquest of Africa at the time, few could have imagined that 48 years later the Atlas Lions would still be looking for a second title, given that the country is a powerful continental football power.
The closest they have come to a second triumph was in 2004 when Regraghi was at right-back in a team that was beaten 2-1 by the home side. Tunisia in the final.
But while the Cup of Nations was a never-ending story of disappointments, Morocco soared to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, becoming the first African and Arab semi-finalists.
A team that includes is given minimal survival chances Belgium and Croatianot only did they but they knocked out Spain and Portugal before going down France in the semi-finals.
“What we did at the World Cup was incredible. We put Africa on the world map,” said the 48-year-old born in a southern suburb of Paris.
After their stunning World Cup display, the pressure on Morocco to achieve further glory has intensified with some pundits labeling them “hot favourites” to win the 2024 Nations Cup.
They will face two former champions, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambiaand underdogs Tanzania in Group F in Ivory Coast, where the tournament starts on Saturday.
– ‘Curse of African Cup’ –
Assuming they progress to the knockout stages, there are four more hurdles to overcome if Morocco are to end what Regraghi calls “the curse of the Africa Cup of Nations”.
In their last seven Cup of Nations appearances, the Atlas Lions have never made it past the quarter-finals and suffered a shock round of 16 loss to minnows Benin in 2019.
Regraghi is not buying the “red favourites” line, telling reporters that “there are at least 10 teams that can win the Nations Cup.
“We are not the favourites. There are better teams than us on the continent. Since the World Cup in Qatar many countries have progressed.
“Teams like Algeria, Egypt, Ivory Coast and Nigerianone of whom qualified for the World Cup, are among the favourites.
“Any team can beat any other in the Cup of Nations. There is no easy group. To win the Africa Cup of Nations you have to be extremely strong.”
DR Congo, a powerhouse in the distant past when they qualified for the World Cup and were two-time African champions, returned under French coach Sébastien Deshabret after missing out in 2022.
Arguably Morocco’s biggest threat in the group, the Leopards have an excellent defender in Chancellor Bemba and a Premier League striker in Yoane Wissa from Brentford.
“I hope we can at least reach the quarter-finals, while Morocco should be favorites to lift the trophy,” says Deshabret.
After a penalty shootout victory over flamboyant Ivory Coast in the 2012 final, Zambia have fallen short and failed to qualify for the last three editions.
“To be part of the group that has put Zambia back where it belongs is a great achievement,” says Leicester City striker Patson Daka, who scored five times in qualifying.
Tanzania share with fellow Guinea-Bissau qualifiers Mauritania, Mozambique and Namibia the goal of winning the tournament for the first time.
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