Achraf Hakimi, the 27-year-old right-back for Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco, spoke to beIN SPORTS on Wednesday evening after their qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations final against Senegal on Sunday (kick-off at 8 p.m CET), following their penalty shootout victory against Nigeria. The national team captain was understandably delighted, but also focused on the final stage of the competition.
Hakimi: “We haven’t finished the job yet; the best part will be on the 18th.”
“We are very happy, proud, there are no words. It’s a unique moment for us; we’ve made history once again. The team deserves it, the staff. All Moroccans deserve it. We are very happy, we would like to enjoy today, but we haven’t finished the job; the best part will be on the 18th.
The whole team did an incredible job, solid defensively. We didn’t give them any time to create chances.” That’s our strength. And then, with the ball, we created chances. Unfortunately, they didn’t go in today, but we stayed focused and very strong mentally throughout the entire match.
Of course, you have to know how to enjoy a victory. Especially when it’s such an important one, at the end of a very difficult match. It would be a shame not to savor the moment. However, you have to be careful not to get carried away and quickly refocus. This is often how it is in competitive sport; the next challenge comes quickly and resets everything, or almost everything, to zero.
Hakimi has experience, and we suspect he’ll be able to pass that on to his teammates, if necessary. Of course, the opponent will also be determined for the final, and nothing guarantees a victory. All that remains is to work as hard as possible to give ourselves the best possible chance.
