Morocco/Niger: 2026 World Cup Qualifiers - Niger's Football Team Coach Sees Losing to Morocco As 'Ordinary Result'

Rabat — The head coach of Niger's national football team, Badou Zaki, said that his side's defeat against Morocco (5-0), Friday evening at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, "is not a heavy loss, but an ordinary result" against "the best African team".

"The sending-off of one of our players made things difficult for us. Our players lack match fitness, as the local league has not yet started. We always face problems in September. We expected such a scenario," Zaki said at a press conference following the Morocco-Niger match, which ended with the Atlas Lions securing qualification for the upcoming 2026 World Cup.

According to Zaki, Niger's players are not used to playing in front of a packed stadium of no less than 60,000 spectators, noting that Morocco's squad is very strong. "There is simply no comparison between the two teams," he added.

He further stressed that the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium is "a source of pride for Morocco," admitting that "it is not easy to play against the national team of one's country of origin."

"Niger's objective was to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, but we could not achieve it. We were not dreaming of qualifying for the World Cup, but we want to build a fighting team in preparation for AFCON 2027," he emphasized.

Moreover, Badou Zaki underlined that the achievements of Moroccan football in recent years are the result of a well-thought-out strategy and the wise Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.

"The football revolution in Morocco is now bearing fruit, thanks to the establishment of modern sports infrastructure, the Mohammed VI Academy, the Mohammed VI Football Complex (...), which makes Morocco a model to follow for the African continent," he said.

With this victory, Morocco, which secured its ticket to the American World Cup, scheduled to take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, two rounds before the end of the qualifiers, consolidated its leadership of the group with 18 points from six wins in six matches, followed by Tanzania (10 pts), Zambia, Niger (6 pts), and Congo (1 pt).

The 2026 World Cup will thus mark Morocco's seventh appearance at the tournament's final stage and its third in a row (1970, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2018, 2022).

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