Moroccan Walid Regragui became the first Arab and African coach to lead his country to qualify for the semi-finals of the "Qatar 2022" World Cup.

Rekragui made a distinguished career in the World Cup in Qatar, where he topped his group with 7 points, from a goalless draw with Croatia, then beat Belgium (2-0) and Canada (2-1).

Then he led the Lions to achieve a historic penalty shootout victory over Spain in the round of 16, and he also led Morocco to overthrow Portugal with a score (1-0) in the quarter-finals.

The Moroccan national team, led by Walid Rekragui, is preparing to face its French counterpart, at Al-Bayt Stadium, next Wednesday, in the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar.

The beginning of Al-Rakraki

benefited from his experience as a player, as he had important stations and played for several clubs in France, such as Toulouse and Ajaccio, and he also carried the colors of Spanish Racing Santander.

Walid Regragui played for the Moroccan national team on several occasions, most notably in the 2004 African Cup of Nations, which was held in Tunisia, when the Lions reached the final.

Regragui benefited from his important experience as a player to enter the training field, and his first experience was as an assistant coach with the Moroccan national team, coach Rachid Tousi.

At that time, Regragui was part of the coaching staff of the Lions in the 2013 African Cup of Nations, which was held in South Africa, and this experience lasted one year.

The real breakthrough

Although he grew up in France, he was associated with his country of origin, Morocco, so he chose to have his first real experience with the Rabat conquest.

This experience was important and useful to him, and he said in media statements: "I trained this team for 6 years. I was lucky because I did not feel any pressure, and it was an opportunity for me to learn several things in this team."

Al-Rakraki's experience with Al-Fateh Al-Rabati was successful, at all levels, as he won the Throne Cup with him in 2014, and also led this team to be crowned for the first time in its history with the League Shield in 2016. A Gulf experience, Al-Rakraki found that his mission ended

with

Al-Fath after spending 6 successful seasons with him. Therefore, he decided to go through a new experience, this time outside Morocco, where he contracted with Al-Duhail of Qatar in 2020.

He said in this regard: “The more diverse the experiences, the higher the degree of experience, so I bet on this experience in order to discover another competition, so it was a successful experience.” .

Al-Ragraki's experience with Al-Duhail lasted one season, and he was crowned with the Qatari League Shield, after he received Walid in the Royal Palace, where he received the Medal of Honor from King Mohammed VI.

The most expensive title

Walid Regraki returned in 2021 to the Moroccan League in another way through the Wydad Casablanca gate, and he was aware that this experience was exceptional and different.

Regragui said, "Any coach who wishes to lead Wydad with his history and fan base, I knew that the task would not be easy in the face of the pressure that this team is aware of."

Regragui led Wydad to crown the 2022 CAF Champions League after defeating Al-Ahly of Egypt with a clean double, and he also crowned the Moroccan League shield after a fierce competition with Raja.

And this exceptional season with Wydad Casablanca was the beginning of goodness for Walid Regraki, to be a strong candidate to coach Morocco after the dismissal of Wahid Khalilozic.

Regragui signed a contract with the Moroccan Football Federation only 3 months before the start of the World Cup, but it was enough to lead his country to the Golden Square in the World Cup in Qatar.

Al-Rakraki depends in his work on his good communication with the players and his good relationship with them, and the cultivation of harmony within the team, while relying on the collective spirit within the group.