- Morocco may be out of the tournament but they won a lot of fans with their display against Spain.
- Coach Renard certain side can learn from their time in Russia.
MOSCOW: Moroccan coach Herve Renard has promised that the team will learn the lessons from the their World Cup heartache and return stronger in the future.
The Atlas Lions may have exited the tournament without a win, but they collected plenty of plaudits after narrow 1-0 defeats against Iran and Uruguay and a 2-2 draw with Spain.
Morocco finished bottom of Group B with Spain and Portugal going through with five points each, and Iran taking third with four points.
But while the table will not make happy viewing for Moroccan fans, their match against Spain once again proved they belong at the top table. It was by far their best performance and and a match they were very unlucky not to win, only a late Iago Aspas goal getting the 2010 world champions on level terms in the last minute.
That ending on a high has left the Atlas Lions hopeful that the best is yet to come.
“It has been an exceptional experience,” Revard said.
“I came here to learn and we have learnt a great deal in the three matches. We have learnt how to play at a high level.”
Taking in some of the top teams in the world has shown Morocco what is needed to compete at the highest level according to Revard.
“In Africa we seldom have the ball possession like Spain have and we had to adapt and adjust to protect the central midfield,” he said.
“These lessons are important even when you see it on television but when you have to take on a team with players like (Andres) Iniesta then you can see how they can give us difficulties between 20 and 40 minutes and we had to correct this and these kinds of lessons are fantastic for a coach.”
Overall, the French coach was left to lament that his team did not quite manage to get the points they deserved in their first World Cup appearance in 1998.
“We should have had a draw in the opening game but were caught in the last minute. If we get a point there then things could have been very different. We perhaps lacked experience.”
In the end being placed in what was perhaps the toughest group in the entire tournament was a little too much for Morocco. Portugal are the defending European champions with Spain traditional European powerhouses.
“We took on two of the very best teams in the world and we represented Morocco,” Renard added. “It was a magical moment. We would have loved to have got to the next round. “We can be proud of what we have done and proud of the team. Today was fantastic to hear the Moroccan anthem in Russia which is far away. This is something quite moving and will be forever in our memories.”
According to the coach, who would not be drawn as to whether he would stay with the team, there is still much for Morocco to learn from the World Cup even now they are heading home.
“We have to savour the moment of being here and what we did and we will think of the future later. For now, we have to keep watching the high-level teams that are still in the competition and keep learning as much as much as we can.”