By Adegboyega Adeleye
Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi says he has no regrets about choosing to represent the Atlas Lions instead of France, despite his side’s World Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of Les Bleus.
France defeated Morocco 2-0 on Thursday to book their place in the World Cup semi-finals, ending another impressive run by the North Africans after they became the first African nation to reach consecutive World Cup quarter-finals.
Bouaddi, one of Morocco’s breakout stars at the tournament, switched his international allegiance to the Atlas Lions in May after representing France at youth level and captaining the French Under-21 side earlier this year.
According to ESPN, speaking after the defeat, the 18-year-old Lille midfielder insisted the result had not changed how he felt about his international decision.
“There’s absolutely no regret at having chosen Morocco,” Bouaddi said.
“I always said that it was a choice from the heart, and I’m very proud to represent Morocco, regardless of what happens.
“The most important thing now is that we know—the players, the staff, everyone—that whatever happens, we’ll always give everything for the shirt.”
Bouaddi admitted Morocco were disappointed not to go further in the competition but said the experience would help the team improve.
“We’re proud, although we’d hoped to make the Moroccan people as proud as possible. For the future competitions, we’ll know what we still have to improve to go as far as possible.
“We’ll keep working and improving what we do.”
Born and raised in northern France, Bouaddi was widely regarded as one of the country’s brightest young talents before committing his senior international future to Morocco.
The Lille midfielder made his competitive debut against Brazil earlier in the tournament and quickly established himself as one of coach Walid Regragui’s key players.
Reflecting on the defeat to France, Bouaddi said Morocco had been fully aware of the challenge awaiting them.
“Going into the match, we knew we were up against a very good France team,” he said.
“We knew it was going to be a difficult game that would demand a huge amount of effort from us.
“I think we gave everything we had, we gave 100 per cent, but that’s football—you can’t always win.
“I think this match will help us grow. It will show us what we need to take into the next competitions and the areas we still need to improve. It’s those small details that we have to work on if we want to go even further.”
Despite their elimination, Morocco left the tournament with another historic achievement, becoming the first African nation to reach the World Cup quarter-finals in consecutive editions.
