{"id":412054,"date":"2026-01-14T10:03:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T10:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/412054\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T10:03:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T10:03:08","slug":"im-not-afraid-of-getting-sacked-morocco-coach-walid-regragui","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/412054\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I’m not afraid of getting sacked’ \u2013 Morocco coach Walid Regragui"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Walid <\/a>Walid Regragui is the head coach for Morocco<\/p>\n

Morocco coach Walid Regragui has addressed the immense pressure surrounding his position ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-final, stating he is “not afraid” of being sacked if the host nation fails to deliver on its title ambitions.<\/p>\n

Speaking at a press conference before Morocco’s crucial clash against Nigeria on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, Regragui acknowledged the inherent risk in his high-stakes role.<\/p>\n

“Every coach knows he must be prepared for the sack [if he doesn’t win],” Regragui said. However, the manager who led Morocco to a historic semi-final at the 2022 FIFA World Cup struck a defiant tone, adding firmly, “But I’m not afraid [of getting sacked].”<\/p>\n

The pressure is palpable for the Atlas Lions, who are hosting the tournament with the nation expecting a first AFCON final appearance since 2004. <\/p>\n

The team carries the burden of their shocking first-round exit from the 2023 edition, making deep progress on home soil a non-negotiable expectation for many.<\/p>\n

Despite being unbeaten in five matches at the tournament so far, Morocco’s performances have been criticised as underwhelming, with their most convincing display being the 2-0 quarter-final victory over Cameroon. <\/p>\n

They now face a formidable Nigeria side, though the Super Eagles will be without their suspended captain, Wilfred Ndidi.<\/p>\n

Regragui’s bold statement sets the tone for a monumental semi-final, framing the match as not just a battle for a place in the final but a test of his own leadership under the intense spotlight of a demanding football nation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Walid Regragui is the head coach for Morocco Morocco coach Walid Regragui has addressed the immense pressure surrounding…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-412054","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}