“Ziyech Is incredible, He Will Die For You”... Morocco Coach Regragui Heaps Praise On Chelsea Winger.

Morocco's head coach, Walid Regragui, has heaped praises on Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech following his impressive performance as the Atlas Lions defeats Belgium so-called golden generation on Sunday afternoon.

It happened that after Hakim Ziyech had his goal disallowed for offside against the Red Devils, Morocco needed two second half goals courtesy of Romain Saiss and Zakaria Aboukhlal to Roberto Martinez side at Al Thumama Stadium.

Ziyech who was awarded the Man of the Match played a vital role as he set up the second goal that saw Morocco get their first World Cup win in 24-years.

The victory took Morocco second in Group F with four points same as leaders Croatia. The Atlas Lions are yet to concede a single goal in six games under Regragui.

"I don't deserve this man of the match award. It's a collective effort, everyone was behind me, it's a collective work. The crowd helped us: they were behind us and I think it really boosted us... The 29-year-old said after receiving the award.

Regragui also singled out Ziyech when he told reporters after the game that his performance and attitude during the game was incredible, adding that the former Ajax star can die for the team if he is shown love, despite the problems he's had with the national team set-up in the past.

“He’s incredible. What a lot of people say about Hakim is that he is crazy guy, a difficult guy to manage and he doesn't help the team, but what I see is that, when you give him love and confidence, he will die for you." 

“The spirit, when he came back into the national team, you see he is a different player . He is our leader. The role of the coach is to give him confidence, the same with the staff.”

Ziyech had only returned to the Morocco sqaud in September after he retired from international football following a fallout with previous coach Vahid Halilhodzic, which saw him frozen out of the squad for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in January 2022.

That rapport was one of the reasons Halihodzic was sacked in August and replaced by Regraui.

The out of favour but skilled 29-year-old Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech, has talked of a possible exit from the West London club in the January transfer window with the AC Milan and the Eredivisie a likely destination.

When asked last week by NOS if he will leave Chelsea in the January window, Ziyech said: ‘It’s hard to say, difficult to say. We don’t know what will happen in the winter. It’s football, so it’s difficult to say.’

The Atlas Lions just need to avoid a defeat in their last group match against Canada at Al Thumama Stadium on Thursday to qualify to the round-of-16.