RABAT, Jan 3 : Africa Cup of Nations hosts Morocco have been warned not to get too confident about their chances in Sunday’s last-16 clash against underdogs Tanzania, with coach Walid Regragui saying lack of humility has cost them in the past.
Morocco are the top ranked team at the tournament and runaway favourites and look to have an easy passage into the quarter-finals at the expense of Tanzania, who squeezed into the knockout stage among the four best third placed finishers.
They did so without winning a game and their two-point haul from three Group C matches is the lowest tally of points in tournament history for a team advancing out of the first round and into the last-16.
“We hear that we are the overwhelming favourites, that we should win easily, and everyone says that if Morocco do not win, it is a failure, that if Morocco does not win easily, it is a failure,” Regragui said on Saturday.
“My job and the job of the staff and the senior players is to keep our feet on the ground and remember why Morocco has not won the Cup of Nations in 50 years.
“We have not won it because I think that at some point, we lacked humility in every competition, and we must not fall into that trap.”
Morocco’s only previous Cup of Nations success was in 1976 and in recent editions they have crashed out to unfancied opposition.
“We will keep our feet on the ground, we will respect this Tanzanian team,” the coach added.
“They are a team that is growing, they are developing their infrastructure, they are developing their league with two big clubs, and they have very good local players.
“It won’t be an easy match. We will play to our strengths so as not to give them any hope of causing an upset. There are always surprises, and it is up to us to make sure that tomorrow there is no chance for this team,” he said.
Tanzania are competing at only a fourth Cup of Nations tournament and are yet to win in 12 matches played since they first appeared at the 1980 finals.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Tangier; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
