Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi was anything but pleased with his side's 1-1 draw with Brazil at the FIFA World Cup on Saturday night, saying there was 'no dancing in the dressing room' after several missed chances to win.
After enjoying the better of the early exchanges, Morocco took the lead when Ismael Saibari dinked the ball over Alisson Becker in the 21st minute, before Vinicius Jr. equalised for the Selecao 11 minutes later with a fine finish.
The Atlas Lions took more shots than their opponents and carved out the better chances during the match, but were unable to rediscover the intensity of the opening 20 minutes as both sides were left accepting a point apiece.
"There was no party, no singing, no dancing in the dressing room because we drew with Brazil," head coach Mohamed Ouahbi said after the match.
"Now Morocco are at a different dimension, I'm not disappointed, but I'm not satisfied either.
"I can't exactly explain what my feelings are, but I'm proud of what the players showed, proud of what they did on the pitch, but ultimately, we weren't able to get the win.
"We have to accept it, we'll take the point, the draw, and we'll continue to go forward. We'll take the positives, improve some things, and get better for the next match."
The match was a first serious test for new coach Ouahbi since replacing Walid Regragui - the mastermind of Morocco's run to the World Cup semifinal in 2022 - in March, with the former youth team coach charged with continuing the Atlas Lions' momentum.
Ouahbi is also being expected to infuse the North Africans with a more adventurous, creative, front-foot style than his predecessor, and the improvement was evident during an impressive opening period, as Morocco's interchanging movement, dynamic midfield and sharp passing angles put Brazil under pressure.
"I can't say that it was a tactical masterclass, but we have our match principles, which we showed [in a pre-tournament friendly] against Norway in the first half," he added.
"The players dared to play, tried to keep the ball, keep it under pressure, and we kept our principles in place.
"I know our fans are proud of us, but they wanted us to win. We've shown that we have the ambition, we got a draw, but we want to show that we can win our matches, we want to show that personality in every match.
"So, we didn't celebrate [the point], and we want to perform better in the next match. It's not finished, this is a long competition, and we'll be able to thrill our supporters back home, God willing."
Morocco's Group C campaign continues against Scotland in Boston on June 19, before they face Haiti in Atlanta five days later.
