MOROCCO captain Romain Saiss has insisted that the team must at least reach the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire (AFCON 2023) to be considered a success, following their exploits at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The Atlas Lions made history in Qatar just over one year ago by becoming the first African team to ever reach the World Cup semi-finals, and AFCON 2023 is their first major tournament since that feat.
Morocco are in Group F with DR Congo, Zambia and Tanzania as they chase their second AFCON title, 48 years after their only triumph.
Although Morocco have not set the competition alight in recent years, failing to progress beyond the quarter-finals since 2004 when they lost in the final, Saiss is confident that they will live up to expectations this time.
“We have set high goals for ourselves. We want to have a big AFCON. We know that everyone is waiting for us now after our 2022 World Cup and we have a big responsibility of doing well,” the 33-year-old Al-Shabab of Saudi Arabia centre-back told CAFOnline.
“So we want to have a great competition for Morocco and make all the people who follow us proud.
“We arrived quite early to acclimatize to the weather here. We are preparing very well. We know that the competition starts soon, and we still have a few days to refine the details before the start.”
On the ideal finish for the Atlas Lions, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers star said the target is to make it to the final.
“A successful AFCON for Morocco means going as far as possible and that means going to the end of the tournament,” Saiss added.
“When we start a tournament, it is to go as far as possible and the furthest possible is the final. We will concentrate on the group matches, get through the groups and then we will take it game by game once this first objective is achieved. The goal is to stay in Cote d’Ivoire for a long time.”
The Atlas Lions begin their AFCON 2023 campaign on January 17 against Tanzania before facing DR Congo four days later.
They end the group stages with a clash against Zambia on January 24.
