Sakina Ouzraoui - Participating in the Olympics is another dream that we want to achieve
· Sakina Ouzraoui has her sights set on Olympic qualification.
· Morocco will compete for its place in the Olympic Games against Zambia over two legs
· “The new coach has instilled sense of belief in the team”
Tuesday, 26 September 2023 will always be a special day for Morocco’s Sakina Ouazraoui who opened her national team scoring account against Zambia in what was unfortunately for them, a crushing 6-2 defeat to the Copper Queens.
A lot has changed since then, with the arrival of Jorge Vilda in the Atlas Lionesses’ camp as the team prepares to face the Zambians over two legs to contest a place in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Motivated than ever since their crushing defeat to Zambia and impressive showing at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Ouazraoui speaks to CAFOnline about the potential of going to the Olympics and the team’s growth.
Cafonline.com: Morocco will face Zambia for a place in the Women's Olympic Football Tournament. What can we expect from the Atlas Lionesses?
Sakina Ouazraoui: I think it’s an elimination round like any other, we’re not going to put more pressure on ourselves than that. Zambia is a team we know very well. We faced them in a double confrontation last September. The result was not in our favor (editor's note: two defeats: 2-0 and 6-2) but I think we are a completely different team now. We are more ambitious, and our game has evolved. One thing is certain: we believe in ourselves, and we will fight until the end.
What lessons did you learn from your last meeting against the Copper Queens?
We lost control of the match, unlike Zambia, who were much more diligent. We learned a lot about ourselves and them during those defeats. We know that this is a team that has super-fast players. They played a lot on the counter-attack with Barbra Banda's attacks, it's up to us to keep an eye on things now.
Since October, Jorge Vilda who is a world champion with Spain has been Morocco's coach. Can you describe his style and coaching method?
He imposed a certain vigor in the team. It shows that our game is more structured. It’s a game based on possession, he wants us to play and play well. He wants to see us take charge and lead. What is important for him is to have a pleasant game and above all that we have fun.
Morocco is doing quite well in its first attempts. During their first TotalEnergies CAF Women’s AFCON, they were finalists. In the recent FIFA Women’s World Cup, you reached the Round of 16. If you win against Zambia, you will participate in your first Olympics. What do you make of this?
It’s another dream to that we want to make a reality. To be among the twelve best teams in the world would be something huge. A pride for our country. We show to what extent Moroccan women's football is constantly evolving. It is the fruit of hard work and the federation helps us enormously as well as our King Mohammed VI. We started with a AFCON then the World Cup and now maybe the Olympics. We also show that Moroccan women's football has its place among the great nations.
If Morocco qualifies, you will be in Group B with the United States, Germany and Australia. What do you make of this group?
It’s a difficult group like all the groups at the Olympics. There are only twelve teams and finding an easy group at the Olympic Games is impossible. We know Germany very well. We faced the Germans at the World Cup (editor's note: 6-0 defeat). I think we have gained in maturity and if we were to meet, we will not approach this match in the same way.