![\"Morocco's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766930727_624_image.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nRABAT, Morocco \u2014 Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi has appealed for the host nation\u2019s supporters to stop whistling the team at the Africa Cup of Nations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not normal for the supporters to whistle,\u201d Hakimi said Sunday before Morocco\u2019s final group game against Zambia on Monday. \u201cWe need that 12th man.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Moroccan players were subjected to whistles from the home fans at half time and again at full time after their disappointing 1-1 draw against Mali on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need the fans,\u201d Hakimi said. \u201cBut we have to respect our rivals. They\u2019re not easy opponents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morocco, the highest ranked African team at No. 11, is considered the favorite for the 35th edition of the tournament after reaching the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup. The Atlas Lions have all their group games in the near 70,000-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, the capital, where they will also play their first knockout game should they finish top of their group.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know the fans want us to win all the time. Since the World Cup, there\u2019s a new Morocco, but we mustn\u2019t forget to keep our feet on the ground. Having the AFCON at home helps us, but it doesn\u2019t make things easier. We need them behind us. And as for the criticism of the coach, he\u2019s done a great job. He was with the team at the World Cup. He has changed mentalities, even mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morocco leads Group A with four points from two games, ahead of Mali and Zambia on two, with Comoros on one point before its final group game against Mali, also Monday.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi second from right, with teammates warm up ahead of the African Cup of Nations Group A soccer match between Morocco and Mali in Rabat, Morocco, Friday, 26, 2025. Credit: AP\/Mosa’ab Elshamy<\/p>\n
The top two progress from each group, along with the best third-place finishers.<\/p>\n
Hakimi referred to his experience with his club Paris Saint-Germain, where the players were also whistled before the team went on to win the Champions League in May.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople told us we weren\u2019t a great team. In the end, we\u2019re European champions. So there you have it,\u201d Hakimi said.<\/p>\n
Morocco coach Walid Regragui said Hakimi will make his first appearance of the tournament against Zambia after recovering from an ankle injury, either as a starter or a substitute.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the best player in Africa,\u201d Regragui said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RABAT, Morocco \u2014 Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi has appealed for the host nation\u2019s supporters to stop whistling the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82,3851,13009],"class_list":{"0":"post-373170","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-soccer","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-wires-bot","13":"tag-world-cup"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}