Chiba proud of his players despite failure to clinch title

Morocco’s head coach Said Chiba said he was proud of the performance and fighting spirit of his players despite their failure to clinch the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations title in Algeria.

The Moroccans saw Senegal overturn a 1-0 lead in Friday night’s final at the Nelson Mandela Stadium to lose the game 2-1 and despite being heartbroken by the outcome of the duel, Chiba was only full of praise for his players.

“Our players gave an honorable performance. We thank everyone for their great support, starting with the King who has been our number one fan. We thank the Academies and all the technical centres that prepared these players,” Chiba said after the match.

Chiba also states; “The result is harsh on the players at this age but we will take it in. This is football and I told them that I am proud of their performance.”

Looking back to the match the tactician said it was a tough and competitive duel, noting that his players did their absolute best to try and crown their participation with the trophy.

“This was a great match befitting a final. We congratulate Senegal for their performance and a great team and we also congratulate ourselves for our discipline and performance. There was a lot to learn from the tournament despite the loss in the final. This was a great way for us to prepare for the World Cup,” Chiba stated.

He added; “We will draw a lot of lessons from the tournament and we will try work on the mistakes we have seen. We are going to the World Cup a better team and we will try represent Africa to the best of our ability, because this is a great honour.”

Morocco reached the final for the first time in their history, and will be playing at the World Cup for the second time, having made their debut in 2013.