By John Essien
Coach of the Moroccan female national team, Reynald Pedros says his team is determined to reach this year’s WAFCON final when they face Nigeria’s Super Falcons in the last four.
The Atlas Lionesses have enjoyed a tremendous campaign so far, having won all their Group A matches to top the table with nine points.
The hosts kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 win against Burkina Faso, defeated Uganda 3-1 and then edged out Senegal 1-0 to reach the quarter-finals, before beating Botswana 2-1 in the last eight.
Meanwhile, Nigeria started their campaign in Group C with a 2-1 defeat against South Africa, but they recovered to beat Botswana 2-0 and then hammered Burundi 4-0 to storm the quarters, where they defeated Cameroon 1-0.
Ahead of the Super Falcons clash, Pedros, who played as a midfielder for the France national team, believes Nigeria will start as favourites.
“Nigeria is the strongest team in Africa and we know their strength. We need to do our best and we are prepared for the game,” Pedros said in his pre-match press conference as quoted by CafOnline.
“We know they are strong, they have been the strongest for several years and we are ready. I won’t reveal our plans for the game, but we know what we are facing, we know they are experience.”
“We are focusing on winning, we are in the semi-final and we will see what will happen in the game,” Pedros added.
The Atlas Lionesses will come up against the African champions on Monday at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the last four fixture, with the other semis clash pitting South Africa’s Banyana Banyana against Zambia’s Copper Queens.