Against the Bus: Morocco’s Atlas Lions Bet on Attack as AFCON Looms

Facing the Bus: Morocco’s Challenge to Break Defenses

The Atlas Lions returned to action in Rabat with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Bahrain, a result that came with a late, scrape-of-a-wing-goal from Jawad El Yamiq in the 94th minute. The win underscored a familiar theme: Morocco often looks strong on paper but struggles to unlock teams that park the bus and defend in numbers as the Africa Cup of Nations approaches.

Head coach Walid Regragui has repeatedly framed this issue as a matter of turning promise into accuracy in the final third and managing the mental pressure that can weigh on players when chances don’t materialize quickly. It’s a familiar tension for a side that has commanded possession and pressure, yet craved clinical finishing against compact rearguards.

Before Bahrain, a similar scenario played out in a friendly against Mauritania in Agadir, which finished level despite Morocco’s stars on the pitch; the result highlighted the difficulty of stitching together creative play against well-organized defenses. The same pattern appeared against Cape Verde in Rabat, and the Lions again found trouble breaching deep defences in the Leagues of Qualifiers against smaller sides like Lesotho and Niger, where late winners became part of the script.

In defensive metrics that would make any coach smile and grimace at once, Morocco controlled the narrative—25 chances created, 20 attempts on goal, more than 21 corners, and possession hovering around 80 percent—yet the ball refused to whisper into the net at the right moment. The takeaway: pressure and precision must align if the team hopes to translate dominance into knockout-stage success.

The Road Ahead

Regragui told Kooora that such scenarios can happen in AFCON; he would rather encounter them in friendlies now so the squad can learn, adjust, and avoid relying on paper credentials alone. He emphasized that true success demands sweat, sacrifice, and respect for opponents, noting that the World Cup run—where Morocco faced top-shelf teams with rugged defenses—provided a playbook for managing defensive blocks and building momentum in attack.

He also recalled that the team finished the AFCON and World Cup campaigns with the strongest forward line in their group stages, and stressed that the current scrutiny is not a verdict but a prompt to refine the mental and technical tools required to finish tight games. The remarks hint at a broader strategy: patience, persistence, and a willingness to evolve the attack to counter entrenched defenses.

Support from the Past and Present

Former Morocco coaches Rachid Taoussi and Badou Zaki publicly endorsed Regragui’s method, arguing that overemphasis on negative numbers could undermine confidence ahead of the tournament. Taoussi, who watched the Bahrain match from the stands, noted that the team controlled play but that luck and individual moments of brilliance were the gulf between draw and victory. Zaki, meanwhile, insisted that Regragui’s résumé in qualifiers justifies faith in his approach and that the numbers so far point in the right direction, even if the results don’t always reflect the underlying performance.

Ultimately, both veterans urged unity and patience, reminding everyone that AFCON is a different stage where small margins decide outcomes. The message: keep the faith, rally the troops, and trust that the process will sharpen in time for the continent’s premier championship.