Moroccan national team coach Walid Rakrakki appeared in press statements after the 1-1 draw against Mali, in the second round of the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations.

The coach said in his speech: "The Mali team was happy with the draw, congratulations to them… but we were the better team on the field. A frustrating draw, we deserved to win. I want to thank the players for their performance, and I am satisfied with them."

He added: "We controlled the match, pressed, created chances, and the equalizing goal came from a mistake that cost us a penalty. We have learned from these matches, and frankly, I see more positives than negatives."

He continued: "I am not surprised by Mali's performance; they started the match with five defenders, while we had 70% possession and took 15 shots. Apart from the penalty, they did not shoot at us at all. We should have closed the match given the number of chances and balls we had inside the penalty area. We want to finish the first round at the top of the group."

He went on: "Achraf Hakimi will be ready for the next match against Zambia. We have the opportunity to see Achraf start or come on as a substitute. He will be ready for the knockout matches, that is certain! Today he could have played for 10 minutes, but considering the lineup, the intensity of the match, and the result, we preferred not to take a risk."

He concluded: "This draw is a positive result for us, as it ended a streak of 19 consecutive wins."