During his last round of 16 as coach, Hervé Renard experienced a surprise elimination with Morocco during the 2019 African Cup of Nations, against Benin on penalties.
After offering the very first African Cup of Nations to Zambia, in 2012, and after becoming the first coach to win a 2nd CAN with a different country, in 2015 with Côte d’Ivoire, Hervé Renard did not not experienced the same success at the head of Morocco. Under the leadership of the charismatic Savoyard technician, the Atlas Lions fell in the quarter-finals of CAN 2017, against Egypt (1-0), then from the 8th of the 2019 edition against Benin.
This elimination in 2019 is quite a trauma. On this very first AFCON at 24, the Moroccan selection had finished at the top of its group, with the “chance” of facing a 3rd in the first round, Benin, which had had 3 draws in its pool (including two 0- 0). The Squirrels created the surprise by winning on penalties after a crazy meeting (1-1, 1 tab to 4).
Hakim Ziyech missed a penalty in added time of the second half, hitting the crossbar, then the Moroccans moved to 11 against 10 during extra time after the exclusion of Khaled Adenon (97th). The defender passed by Amiens had then refused to leave the field, before getting confused with the staff of Renard!
No coronation with Saudi Arabia either
Hervé Renard therefore knows this feeling of defeat very well as the big favorite for a knockout match, while his French women’s team is precisely challenging Morocco at the World Cup on Tuesday (1 p.m. in France). Les Bleues finished top of their group with a victory against Brazil, while the Lionesses, led by Reynald Pedros, are the big surprise of the final table.
At the head of Saudi Arabia from 2019, Renard failed to win the Gulf Cup of Nations in 2019, his team losing in the final against Bahrain. But the Saudis led by Salem Al Dawsari obviously achieved the feat of beating Lionel Messi’s Argentina at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on November 22. They then lost against Poland and Mexico, not reaching the round of 16 of the World Cup.
