Regragui: Can a coach do without his Ballon d'Or? Achraf will play tomorrow

Present at a press conference on Sunday alongside his player, Walid Regragui confirmed that he would give Achraf Hakimi playing time on Monday for Morocco's third and final group match of the Africa Cup of Nations against Zambia. The coach took the opportunity to emphasize the influence of "Africa's best player" on his team.

"Can a coach do without his Ballon d'Or winner?" With this opening statement, Walid Regragui highlighted the importance of Achraf Hakimi's absence for Morocco, who will welcome back their star player on Monday for the final group match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations against Zambia (8 p.m.).

"Achraf will play tomorrow (Monday). I don't know if he'll start or come on as a substitute, but he will play," the coach promised at Sunday's press conference, delighted to be able to count on his key player again, who has returned from injury and remained on the bench for the first two matches.

"I feel good," confirmed the right-back. "The coach and the medical staff and I have a program. I wasn't feeling 100% in the last few matches, but I was available to help the team. Now I feel much better. If I have to play, I'm ready. Otherwise, I'll help out as I have been doing from the bench. Even if I don't play, I want to win this AFCON."

"People don't realize the contribution Achraf makes to our team." Beyond his technical qualities, the return of the African Player of the Year can also bring a different balance of power to Morocco and have a psychological impact on their opponents. "People don't realize the contribution Achraf makes to our team," Regragui remarked ironically. "We played two matches without our Ballon d'Or winner, our captain, our best player. (...) Will we be different with Achraf? Certainly. We have the best player in Africa, one of the best in the world. But we're not hiding anything. We anticipated this."

And the coach added: "If you take away a (Sadio) Mané from Senegal, or a (Mohamed) Salah from Egypt, you'd say: 'Yes, but they're missing their best player.' In Morocco, we don't say that. We might be downplaying his role, but I'm sure we'll be even better with him."

After the draw against Mali on Friday (1-1), Walid Regragui had already announced that Achraf Hakimi had a good chance of joining his team for the final, decisive matchday. The host nation will play Zambia for their place in the round of 16 and will only need a draw to secure qualification.