Morocco Boss: Man Utd Star Was Good But…

The Morocco coach has reflected on the impact of Manchester United’s Noussair Mazraoui in the wake of Achraf Hakimi’s absence. (Photo: Stu Forster/Gallo Images)

Morocco head coach Walid Regragui has praised the impact of Manchester United defender Noussair Mazraoui in the absence of CAF Men’s Player of the Year Achraf Hakimi, although he did offer a measured caveat.

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The newly crowned African Player of the Year has not featured in a competitive match since suffering a serious ankle injury in early November during Paris Saint-Germain’s 2-1 UEFA Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich.

Since then, the attacking right-back has been racing against time to regain full fitness for the Africa Cup of Nations, which Morocco are hosting. While Hakimi has now recovered sufficiently to be included in the squad, he did not start in the Atlas Lions’ 2-0 Group A victory over Comoros.

Mazraoui was selected in his place, and while Regragui was pleased with the Manchester United defender’s contribution, he admitted the team may have benefitted further had their captain been available from the start.

“Without Hakimi we could have done better, but Mazraoui is fantastic,” Regragui said, according to ESPN.

“I place him in the hierarchy as strong as Achraf, even if he has different qualities.

“We still need Hakimi, he’s one of the best players in Africa and in the world, there’s no team in the world that can’t play without their best player,” he continued. “This style of game would have suited Hakimi today, he would have helped us in wide areas.”

“We didn’t take the risk [to play him],” the former Wydad Athletic Club coach added.

“He already came back faster than planned, but we’re careful because we want him back for the tournament, not just for 20 minutes or for one match.

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“We’ll see in 48 hours how he is, and whether he starts against Mali,” he added. “If he will, or not, we’ll have to see later, but we know he’ll play at this AFCON, and we wait impatiently.”

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