In the lead-up to the TotalEnergies Futsal Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semifinals, Libya’s Head Coach, Ricardo Inuguez candidly admitted during the pre-match press conference, yesterday, that his team will face a “tough Moroccan side.” The decisive encounter is scheduled for Friday at 9 P.M. at Prince Moulay Abdellah Complex in Rabat, according to a CAF press release.
Inuguez’s explicit acknowledgment that Libya will take on “one of the best teams in the world” illustrates the importance of the upcoming confrontation. With Libya advancing to the semifinals following an 11-5 victory over Namibia, Inuguez said “competitiveness,” “focus,” and “taking chances” are what will be important in what he called “a difficult match against a very good team.”
The semifinal round not only provides a platform for all teams to earn a spot among the AFCON title’s qualifiers, but it also acts as a gateway to the FIFA Futsal World Cup scheduled in Uzbekistan, where 24 teams will be competing. Inuguez hopes to qualify for the global championship.
“Reaching the semifinals is very important as it gives us the opportunity of reaching the World Cup,” he said. “We can still qualify for the World Cup with a third-place finish, but we have to be competitive against a difficult opponent.”
Libyan star player Mohamed Suleiman Ghaeb echoed Inuguez’s sentiments, touting the significant strides in Futsal seen all across Africa during this seventh tournament. “The level of Futsal is improving in Africa and there’s a lot of difference between the previous competitions and this one,” Ghaeb said during the press conference.
“Our preparation for this match is linked to the quality of Morocco as they are one of the tournament’s best teams. We will do our best to qualify for the final against a very good team, so our focus is on the semifinal.”
This is the second time that Morocco has hosted the African Championship. The first was in Laayoune in 2020, when the Moroccan team claimed victory. Morocco had previously won the AFCON title in 2016.