Having led Morocco to an iconic victory over Spain at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, head coach Walid Regragui made history for Africa's only remaining participants at the global showpiece.
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It has been a special year for Regragui as the Moroccan tactician continues to see his stocks rise within the football fraternity.
The 47-year-old tactician was appointed as head coach of the Atlas Lions after leading Wydad Casablanca to CAF Champions League and Botola Pro glory in the 2021/22 season, and now, with his home nation, he continues to break records on the international stage.
Seven matches into the new job and the former defender has already led the north African giants to their best-ever performance at a FIFA World Cup.
The 1976 Africa Cup of Nations winners have, for the first time in their history, reached the competition's quarter-final stage, where they will take on Portugal.
Morocco are only the fourth African nation to make it this far in the tournament, and Regragui has made history with his charges in the process.
While Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana have also progressed as far as the quarter-finals of football's biggest spectacle, they all did so under the leadership of European coaches.
Regragui is now the first African head coach to take an African nation this deep into a World Cup.
After the match, centre-back Jawad El Yamiq was full of praise for his manager.
"We honoured Arab and African football. Coach Regragui gave us the confidence that we needed in this game, a big boost in morale," the Real Valladolid man told beIn SPORTS.
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Regragui will now look to add to what is shaping up to be an iconic legacy when Morocco face the ninth-best national team in the world, according to FIFA's latest rankings, on Saturday.
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