Morocco coach Walid Regragui has warned his players not to let Spain bore them to tears.
Regragui, who spent two years in La Liga with Racing Santander during his playing career, reckons Luis Enrique’s men dominate possession so much that the monotony of chasing the ball can prove fatal. And he has told his team to take their inspiration from how Japan came back to beat one of the World Cup favourites despite having just 17 per cent of the ball.
Regragui said: “Spain have had an average of 70 per cent possession at this World Cup. That can be boring for the spectators and also boring for the other team. Maybe FIFA should start giving points for the amount of ball possession a team has.
“They move the ball so you become tired and then when you make a mistake, that’s when they make a move. That’s why I say that our mentality is as important as our physical condition for this game. We have to remember that Spain had all of the ball against Japan and still lost.
“We won’t have any complex about being the underdogs because we have our own weapons, and I can tell you that we plan to come out swinging.”
Morocco’s frenzied fans played a big role in their nation topping a group that also included Belgium, Croatia and Canada. But their numbers are expected to be down at Education City Stadium because tickets are changing hands for around £850.
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A VAR decision prevented Morocco beating their neighbours at the 2018 tournament in Russia, when an injury-time equaliser by Iago Aspas was given after initially being disallowed for offside.
This the north Africans’ first appearance in the last 16 since 1986 - and they have never been to the quarter-finals. Regragui said: “What happened four years ago is history. Revenge should never be part of football or who we are as a country.
“This is a new generation and this is our chance to make history. We want to hoist the Moroccan flag high over the tournament.”
