African player of the year Achraf Hakimi will make his first appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations when hosts Morocco play Zambia on Monday, coach Walid Regragui confirmed. “What he has done to come back is extraordinary. What I can say is that Achraf will play tomorrow,” Regargui said in Rabat on Sunday, on the eve of Morocco’s last group game. “Whether he starts or not, this will be his first match in the AFCON. “What we want – because we want to go as far as possible – is for Achraf to grow with the team and we can keep him for the whole competition.”
Hakimi has not played since suffering an ankle injury in action for Paris Saint-Germain in early November and was an unused substitute in Morocco’s first two matches at the Cup of Nations.
Without him, Morocco beat Comoros 2-0 in its opening game of the tournament, but were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali on Friday.
They top Group A with four points from two matches and a win against Zambia would allow them to reach the last 16 in first place in their group. The draw will also guarantee their place in the knockout stage.
“I think people don’t realize what Achraf brings to our team,” Regragui said.
“We have played two matches without our best player, our leader and captain, but we have not hidden. Other players have stood up for him.
“But would we be a different team with Achraf? Of course. He is the best player in Africa, one of the best players in the world.”
Hakimi admitted his disappointment at not taking part in either of the first two matches and said he was disappointed that Moroccan supporters jeered the hosts during the draw against Mali.
“We know that sometimes it is not easy, that they want us to win and to finish the game at half-time, but we also have to respect our opponents,” said the defender, who helped PSG win the Champions League last season.
“It’s not normal for them to scold us. We want the supporters to be behind us.”
“I experienced that at Paris Saint-Germain when we were not winning in the Champions League, we were losing games, people said we were not a great team and we did not have a great coach, but we became champions of Europe.
“If the fans are behind us then together we can become champions of Africa.”
Meanwhile, Hakimi said he was happy to see his friend and former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe, who is now with Real Madrid, in the crowd at the match against Mali.
“It’s really nice to see my friend here in his country. He really likes Morocco and comes here with his family whenever he gets the chance. He loves the food here!”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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