Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet, head coach of the Mali national team, expressed his surprise at some of the tactical choices made by Walid Regragui, the coach of the Moroccan national team, during the second half of the match between the two teams in the second round of the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Saintfiet explained during the press conference following the meeting that the substitutions made by the Moroccan national team's technical staff affected the team's balance on the field, stating that the "Atlas Lions" lost part of their organization after these changes.

The coach of the Mali national team pointed out that the Moroccan team started the match in an organized manner and delivered a good performance with the starting lineup, before the style of play changed with the beginning of the substitutions. He added that he did not understand the tactical purpose of some decisions, especially given the decline in cohesion between the team's lines.

Saintfiet added that the Mali national team took advantage of this decline and managed to create several genuine scoring opportunities, especially during the final minutes of the match. He confirmed that his team came close to securing the win on multiple occasions, which reflects the quality of his players, alongside the defensive disorganization of Morocco following the substitutions.

The match ended in a 1-1 draw between the Moroccan and Malian national teams in a game characterized by competitiveness and intensity, as part of the second round of the group stage. This result keeps the qualification scenarios open ahead of the final round of the competition.