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Morocco World
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Morocco World
Morocco's Women's Futsal Team to Face Angola in Women's Futsal AFCON Semifinals
Rabat — Morocco's national women's futsal team will lock horns with Angola in the semifinals of the Women's Futsal AFCON on Monday. The tournament continues until April 30 in Rabat. Morocco and Angola both finished first in their respective groups during the pool phase — Morocco in Group A and Angola in Group B. Angola clinched Egypt with a well-fought 3-1 win. The match kicks off at 8:00 p.m. Morocco time at the indoor hall of the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat. The other semifinal will feature Tanzania, which topped Group C, against Cameroon, which qualified as the best second-place team among the three groups. This match takes place earlier on the same day at 5:00 p.m. The Atlas Lionesses secured on April 24 a spot in the tournament's semifinals, overwhelming Cameroon in an intense AFCON futsal showdown. Morocco secured a decisive 7-1 victory, leaving their opponents struggling to respond throughout the match. 'Every match has its strategy and management. Today (Thursday), the national team showed a different face, and we proved that we're ready for all scenarios,' Morocco's coach Adil Sayeh told reporters after his team's convincing win. 'We showed that we have players of a high level,' Sayeh continued, thanking the team's players for their rigorous work and commitment, as well as their 'fighting spirit, their discipline, and their patience.' The coach applauded his team's performance, saying: 'The players showed the African continent that we have a world-class futsal team. God willing, our eyes are on the title, but we'll take it step by step.' He showed his readiness for a victory in the African tournament. 'Today we finished the group stage, and now our focus is on the semifinal.' Sayeh stressed the importance of their Monday's match, noting they 'have to think about the semifinal, because that's the match that will qualify us for the World Cup. After that, we'll think about the final, God willing.' The two finalists of this African Cup will qualify for the Women's Futsal World Cup, scheduled to take place in the Philippines from November 27 to December 7, 2025. Running from April 22–30, 2025, the tournament marks the first-ever official continental competition for women's futsal under CAF's banner. Tags: 2025 Futsal AFCONfutsalMorocco Futsalwomen futsal
Morocco World
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Morocco World
‘He Felt Spanish': Regragui Reveals Details of Lamine Yamal's Spain Choice
Doha – Morocco national team coach Walid Regragui disclosed the behind-the-scenes conversations that led to Lamine Yamal's decision to represent Spain instead of Morocco. Speaking on Tuesday night's Spanish television program El Chiringuito, Regragui detailed his pursuit of the Barcelona prodigy and accepted the player's choice with professional understanding. 'Lamine Yamal is a generational talent that we tried to bring to the Moroccan national team, but it wasn't possible,' Regragui stated. 'What he's doing at his age is incredible.' The Moroccan coach revealed multiple phone conversations with the young star, presenting him with the federation's ambitious projects. 'I had several telephone conversations with Yamal,' he said. 'I presented him with our projects for Morocco, including the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 World Cup,' Regragui explained. The coach confirmed discussions extended beyond the player himself: 'We spoke with the family, with him, and with his lawyer. It was the first case I had when I arrived at the national team.' According to the coach, Yamal's response came with respect and clarity. 'Two days later, he called me with respect and said 'Coach, thank you for the affection, but I'm going to choose Spain. I feel Spanish.'' 'He explained that he had been playing with Spain since youth levels, so I wished him the best, especially for his honesty and sincerity with me throughout the process,' the Atlas Lions' tactician reflected. Regragui praised the young player's directness throughout the process. 'We tried everything with the project we have with Morocco, with the African Cup in our country, with the 2030 World Cup, with all the affection the country could give to Lamine. But the boy never lied. He didn't play games about being Moroccan or Spanish.' 'Every Moroccan told me about Lamine,' Regragui added. 'They said 'there's a star at Barça and the priority for Morocco is to bring him.' We did everything, but he made his choice, so good luck. That's football.' 'I want to win the African Cup, the country deserves it' During the same interview with Josep Pedrerol, Regragui outlined his ambitions for Morocco's upcoming tournaments. 'I want to win the Africa Cup, the country deserves it. The passion for sport is incredible. There isn't a day when a Moroccan doesn't ask me to win,' he declared. The man behind Morocco's World Cup run also addressed his future with the national team. 'I have a contract until the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, but in this job if you don't win, decisions come quickly,' he acknowledged. Since taking the helm, the coach has maintained a consistent winning rhythm, with Morocco remaining undefeated in official matches since June 2023. The team has suffered only one defeat in their last 20 encounters, building solid momentum ahead of their upcoming tournaments. When questioned about playing style, Regragui offered his philosophy: 'Playing well means being decisive in the final 30 meters and having possession, but always with the opponent's goal in mind.' He added, 'In football, as in all other sports, what fans want is to win.' Read also: Lamine Yamal Crowned World's Best Young Player with 2024 Kopa Trophy Tags: lamine yamalWalid Regragui
Telegraph
05-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Live Everton vs Arsenal: Lineups and latest updates from Premier League
Latest updates Rob Smyth live updates 05 April 2025 11:21am 11:21AM Arsenal team news Raya; White, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Nwaneri, Jorginho, Rice; Sterling, Merino, Trossard. 🔴 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚪️ 🔙 White returns ©️ Jorginho skippers the side ⚡️ Trossard leads the line Let's do this, Gunners 👊 — Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 5, 2025 11:20AM Everton team news Today's Toffees! 🔵 #EVEARS — Everton (@Everton) April 5, 2025 11:01AM Good morning Hello and welcome to Telegraph Sport's live, minute-by-minute coverage of Everton v Arsenal at Goodison Park. Three points are up for grabs, but Arsenal's biggest priority is probably avoiding any more injuries ahead of Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid. Gabriel Magalhaes's season-ending injury against Fulham was the latest blow to Mikel Arteta, who is down to the bare bones in defence. Arsenal don't have much to play for in the Premier League – they are 12 points behind Liverpool, 10 clear of fifth-placed Manchester City – so Arteta has the option to rest players ahead of their big night at the Emirates. In the medium term, he wants a bigger squad next season to deal with the increasing demands of modern football. 'Logically if we demand the players to play more games in more competitions with more travel and more intensity the only solution to deal with it is more players,' he said. 'I don't see any other solution. 'It's been building up for a while and the fact that during the summer there are always competitions and then you have the African Cup. We're going to have a new competition coming up now [the Club World Cup] this summer as well so this is all adding up. 'Every month the intensity, the quality and the pressure is increasing. We have to be very conscious that there are certain limits that the players can do.' Everton's don't have much to play for in terms of their league position but they will be desperate to win today. They have four games left at Goodison Park and are keen to pick up as many points – and make as many memories – as they can. Kick off 12.30pm. "Super, Super Kev..." 🎶💙❤️ Show your love for the late, great man in the 9th minute. ⬇️ — Everton (@Everton) April 5, 2025
