“I’m Sure All the People of Morocco Are Proud,” Renard Reacts to Portugal Loss

Coach Herve Renard has expressed his pride at Morocco’s valiant performance against Portugal at the Luzhniki Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

Backed by thousands of fans who mostly drove to Moscow, the Atlas Lions put up a spirited performance but couldn’t find the back of the net. The North Africans bossed the game with 15 shots but only four were on target and just two truly tested Patricio Rui.

Despite the plethora of missed chances, the gaffer was full of praises for his team and instead criticised American referee Mark Geiger.

“I’m not disappointed with the performance; I am very happy with it. I’m very proud of my players, of this country, proud of the staff, proud of everybody,” he says.

“I’m sure that all Moroccan people are very proud of its team. Two and a half years ago, we started a new adventure. We were ranked 81^st in the world, now we are 41^st. We qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 20 years and we’ve shown that we can play football.

“We didn’t get the goals we should have but here in Moscow, it felt like we were playing in Casablanca,” he added.

“Some people drove all the way to Moscow and I hope they are proud; I am sure they are proud.”

He criticised the referee Mark Geiger for not giving a foul before Ronaldo’s 4^th minute winner.

“It’s true we weren’t effective but I would like you (the media) to be honest. Have a good look at the corner when Portugal scored and have a look at what their number three is doing and write the truth because a foul should have been seen, and there shouldn’t have been a free kick.

“It’s not up-to me to comment on the refereeing, but I would ask you to look at the replays, the slow motion clip.

“If I comment on the refereeing, I will be punished so the only thing you should write about is we are very proud of our performance,” he ended on a light note.

The defeat followed another unfortunate 1-0 loss to Iran in the opener courtesy of a late Aziz Bouhaddouz own goal. The two results mean Morocco are out of the World Cup but Hervre insists the side will not take their foot off the pedal against Spain.