Monterrey, June 30 (IANS) Morocco manager Mohamed Ouahbi has praised his team’s self-belief after recovering from a goal down to beat the Netherlands on penalties and reach the World Cup last 16.

The result at Monterrey Stadium set up a round-of-16 meeting with co-host Canada on July 4 in Houston.

“We believe in ourselves, in our game plan and in our identity. What’s important to me is that the players know what to do, irrespective of the scenario,” Ouahbi told a post-match news conference as quoted by Xinhua.

He added that the African team had gained enormous confidence by reaching the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“The World Cup in Qatar changed the mentality of the Morocco team. In recent years, Moroccan players have come to believe in themselves, and the fans have too. They are demanding, but they know how far we can go,” he said.

Despite his team’s growing self-assurance, Ouahbi adopted a cautious tone when asked about Morocco’s next match against hosts Canada.

“People think it’s a walk in the park, but that’s not the case. Canada will be difficult. We need to rest and prepare. We are unstoppable if we play the football we know we’re capable of playing. But if we get things wrong, we’ll be going home. We have to use all the tools at our disposal to go as far as we can,” he said.

Ouahbi also praised the support of Mexico’s fans and promised that Morocco would reciprocate at the 2030 World Cup, to be co-hosted by the African nation.

“Hopefully, at the next World Cup, we’ll make Mexican fans feel at home too. I’m sure they’ll have a stadium cheering just for them.”

Speaking of the match, Cody Gakpo had given the Netherlands the lead in the round-of-32 encounter with a 72nd-minute strike before Issa Diop’s 91st-minute equalizer forced the match into extra time.

After having the better chances in a goalless extra half-hour, Morocco trailed 1-0 in the shootout before Justin Kluivert, Quinten Timber and Crysencio Summerville all missed for the Netherlands.

Soufiane Rahimi and Chemsdine Talbi converted their efforts, and Ismael Saibari sent Bart Verbruggen the wrong way with his side’s fifth attempt to send his team into the next round.

–IANS

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