Romain Saiss of Morocco during the 2023 International football friendly between Ivory Coast and Morocco at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on 14 October 2023 ©Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024. 15:00
Morocco captain Romain Saiss insists they have a responsibility to at least match their remarkable 2022 World Cup feat at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Walid Regragui’s side made history in Qatar when they became the first African team to reach the semi-finals at the global showpiece, winning the hearts of football enthusiasts all over the world with their performances.
The Atlas Lions only have one AFCON title to their name after conquering Africa in 1976 and they’re viewed as one of the favourites to lift the trophy in Ivory Coast next month.
Saiss insists their World Cup exploits has made the team hungry for more, although he played down the favourites tag and suggested the tournament will be the toughest yet on the continent.
“When you reach a level that is really high, we know we have to keep this kind of standard,” the Al Shabab defender told BBC Africa.
“Of course something has changed [in terms of expectations]. Obviously it will be difficult to reach the semi-final of every competition, but we have to keep this level and help football in Morocco to keep growing.
“It doesn’t feel like pressure, more like a responsibility. We’ve had a taste and now we want more.
“From my point of view, we are not the favourites. I understand why people say that but none of us (players) were born the last time Morocco won the tournament and our coach was playing when we last made it to the final.
“I think Ivory Coast will have the pressure because they are playing at home. There are a lot of dangerous teams with great experience too like Senegal, Cameroon, Algeria and Egypt.
“You can see now in Africa that every game is difficult, anything can happen. It’s going be a tough competition and we need to be ready mentally to go as far as possible. I think this is going to be one of the hardest [tournaments] in history.”
