(MENAFN- Morocco World News) Rabat – Morocco's captain Medhi Benatia is paying tribute to the efforts of his teammates following the Moroccan national team's 3-1 victory over Togo in the 2017 African Cup of Nations on Friday.
Speaking to reporters, Benatia said that 'the current Moroccan team is harmonious and able to be victorious,' and noted that 'the African experience of Morocco's coach Hervé Renard helped the players put on a good performance against Togo.'
Benatia acknowledges, however, that Morocco's performance in the tournament so far has not been as satisfactory as everyone would like it to be. 'Morocco has not achieved any satisfactory results thus far and Morocco's match against Côte D'Ivoire on January 24 will be difficult.'
Having said this, the international player quickly returned to praising his teammates, saying that the Moroccan players 'perform their duties from the very bottom of their hearts. Therefore, there is no fear about their match against Côte D'Ivoire. They can obtain three points and qualify for the next round.'
'Morocco's victory against Togo was a gift for the Moroccan people, who have stood by their national team over the past while,' Benatia continued. 'We need to focus on our team now, before facing Côte D'Ivoire.'
Although Togo's Matthieu Dossevi managed to give his team an early goal at the 5th minute, Morocco's Aziz Bouhaddouz helped the team come back quickly by scoring the equalizer at the 14 minute mark. Roman Saiss then doubled the scoring at the 21st minute before Youssef En-Nesyri sealed the match for Morocco with a third goal at the 71st minute.
Morocco's win against Togo has restored the faith of Moroccans in their national team after they lost their opening match against the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday.
Edited by Constance Guindon
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