The climate in Ivory Coast played a key role in the just-ended AFCON as teams from North Africa struggled to deal with hot temperatures throughout the tournament.
Walid Regragui, the World Cup semi-final coach has disclosed that their (Morocco) minds were not fully prepared for the tournament.
He also blamed the unfavourable weather conditions for Morocco’s poor performance.
“The mind, but also the climate. We have not adapted well to the atmosphere and humidity,” said Walid Regragui.
Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia represented North Africa in the 2023 AFCON. In 14 matches played by these four teams, only two wins were recorded. Morocco beat Tanzania and Zambia 3-0 and 1-0 respectively as the Atlas Lions were the only side from North Africa to taste a victory.
Egypt drew all their 4 games, Tunisia drew 2 and lost one, Algeria drew 2 and lost 1. This is how poor the North Africans were.
The North Africans were seen struggling as they could not deal with the hot temperature in the Ivory Coast.
Morocco, Egypt and Algeria were all among the bookmaker’s top 5 favourites for the tournament but failed abysmally.
