Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi said he was pleased with his team’s performance after their 1-0 win over Scotland, even though the Atlas Lions failed to make the most of several chances.
The victory moved Morocco to the top of Group C with four points from two matches and left them in a strong position ahead of their final group game against Haiti on Wednesday.
Speaking after the match, Ouahbi said getting the three points was the main goal.
“We got the three points and that is what matters most,” he said.
“When you do not score a second goal, you have to defend against their style, which is based on long balls.”
Morocco took the lead early through Ismael Saibari but could not add to their advantage despite creating a number of good opportunities.
Ouahbi said his side managed the second half well.
“We played well in the second half and controlled the game,” he said.
“At the World Cup you face teams with different styles. We won and now have four points, but we have not qualified yet. I will choose the best team against Haiti to try to win. We will see which players are ready.”
The coach also believes Morocco performed better than they did in their opening match.
“Believe me or not, I am very happy with the performance because it was better than the first game,” he said.
“We got into the penalty area many times and I can see improvement. That is why I think we will be better in the third match.”
Ouahbi described the win as a deserved reward for his players after a tough game against a well-organised Scotland side.
“We are very happy with the three points. The players deserved it,” he said.
“We knew the match would be very difficult. We said that if we were more clinical in front of goal, we could have won by a bigger margin, but that did not happen.”
The coach admitted he was hoping for another goal to make the closing stages less stressful.
“We were nervous and I really wanted us to score the second goal,” he said.
“But I am happy because Scotland were a strong team. They defended well, closed the spaces and made things difficult for us.”
Ouahbi said Morocco expected Scotland to push forward late in the game and rely on long balls into the box.
“We knew they would come at us in the final minutes while trailing by one goal,” he said.
“They relied on long balls. We worked very hard and kept pressing high because we did not want them near our penalty area. At times we managed that well.”
He added: “Of course I would have preferred us to score a second or third goal and finish the game more comfortably. But that is football and that is the World Cup.”
Morocco will play Haiti in their final Group C match on Wednesday, with a place in the last 16 still to be secured.
