Ouahbi pleased to see improved display from Morocco in Scotland victory

[p]His prognosis came as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/saibari-ismael/WzSmqNMQ/"]Ismael Saibari[/a] scored the ‌quickest goal of the 2026 tournament so far after 71 ‌seconds to give [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/morocco/IDKYO3R8/"]Morocco[/a] a perfect start before they held off ‌a late [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/scotland/fZRU25WH/"]Scotland[/a] surge for a deserved 1-0 win ‌to reach four points in Group C.[/p][p][b]“We controlled the whole game and, in terms of efficiency, I saw it as actually better than the ‌first game,” said Ouahbi, whose side caught ⁠the eye in their opening ‌1-1 draw versus [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brazil/I9l9aqLq/"]Brazil[/a] in New York/New Jersey last weekend.[/b][/p][p][b]“I see ​it as progress compared to the first game. So in the end, we are happy with the result; ​we wanted three points, and we got them. That was the main objective.”[/b][/p][p][b]“I believe we controlled the game, but when you ⁠don’t score a ​second goal, obviously, we have to defend because Scotland had a very intense approach with very long balls. But I couldn’t be happier with the performance.”[/b][/p][image alt="Scotland - Morocco match momentum" id="c87a09ab-c791-4ac5-b74a-0321be4ddf16" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="acb92ea8-7c6c-4f22-81d0-8f99c83bf3eb" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]However, the clash was played against a ‌backdrop of jeers for Morocco captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hakimi-achraf/MqFBkBsp/"]Achraf Hakimi[/a], hours after a French appeals court confirmed that he will stand trial in a rape case.[/p][p]The 27-year-old Hakimi, who plays his club football for European champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/psg/CjhkPw0k/"]Paris Saint-Germain[/a], denies the allegation.[/p][p]Ouahbi sought to deflect questions about what impact the case might have on Hakimi and the rest of the squad.[/p][p][b]“Hakimi was extraordinary. He had a very strong game, so we’re very relaxed, and ‌he’s especially relaxed,” the coach said.[/b][/p][p]Morocco’s place in the next ​round is not mathematically certain, so Ouahbi said he ‌would resist any temptation to rest players for their last group game against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/haiti/nk4v10Z1/"]Haiti[/a] in Atlanta on Wednesday.[/p][p][b]“The objective will be to win the game and hopefully be number one in the group. So I’m going to field the ⁠best team possible, based ⁠on how physically ready the ‌players are,” he added.[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/morocco-IDKYO3R8/scotland-fZRU25WH/?mid=nRafcAyG"]Check out the match report with Flashscore.[/a][/p]