Former Wolves defender sets the bar high for World Cup semi-finalists Morocco ahead of AFCON

Romain Saiss is adamant FIFA World Cup semi-finalists Morocco will go all the way at the upcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations tournament taking place in Ivory Coast.

The Atlas Lions were the first to arrive in Cote d’Ivoire last Sunday at their camp in San Pedro where Group F matches will be taking place.

Morocco are in the fight to get out of the pool which also comprises DR Congo, Zambia, and Tanzania.

Coming fresh from a historic semi-final finish at the FIFA World Cup, the Atlas Lions are raring to roar to a second AFCON title since last lifting the title in 1976.

Speaking to CAFOnline, Saiss, a former Wolves defender, has revealed that nothing short of getting to the final at the least will be acceptable for the top-ranked nation in Africa.

“We have set high goals for ourselves,” he said.

“A successful AFCON for Morocco means going as far as possible and that means going to the end of the tournament. When we start a tournament, it is to go as far as possible and the furthest possible is the final.

“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. 

“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,” he concluded.

“So we want to have a great competition for Morocco and make all the people who follow us proud,” said the defender.

Saiss has revealed the reason they landed in Ivory Coast earlier than other teams.

“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,” concluded Saiss.

The Atlas Lions kick off the campaign on Wednesday 17 January against Tanzania before facing DR Congo four days later. They then finish the group stages with an interesting clash against Zambia on Wednesday 24 January.

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