Morocco confident of stopping Mo Salah

Moroccan head coach, Vahid Halilhodzic, has pledged that his side will do everything possible to stop Egyptian talisman Mo Salah, as the North African countries lock horns in the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals today.

Halilhodzic was quoted by ESPN saying he believes that his team has the ability to stop the Liverpool forward whose knack in front of goal remains outstanding.

“Over the last two-to-three months, Salah was the best player in the world,” Halilhodzic said. “He’s been absolutely unstoppable with his club, so yes, we’ve looked at videos of his qualities, and we’ve prepared tactically for this specific meeting against a fantastic player.

“We’ll try to block his qualities, and Adam or someone else [will take responsibility for this], it can’t be one player alone, he needs help alongside him.”

Salah has scored just once during the tournament so far, while Egypt have netted just twice — against Sudan and Guinea-Bissau — in four matches.

“We definitely need help to neutralise his talent and ensure it’s not expressed in this match,” Halilhodzic added.

“He’s fantastic, but I also think we have players capable of stopping him and blocking his actions.

“Every match has its own specific preparation, and every player has his role — defensive or offensive — every knows the detail of what to do, right down to the third-choice goalkeeper, everyone knows his role.”

Sunday’s meeting between the North African giants is a rematch of the 2017 quarterfinal between the two, when Kahraba netted an 88th-minute winner to send Egypt through to a semifinal showdown with Burkina Faso. They were later defeated by Cameroon in the final.

ESPN contributed to this news report