AFCON 2023: Morocco Captain Admits Atlas Lions Are Not Favourites to Win Cup

• Romain Saiss is not confident that Morocco will win the AFCON
• The Atlas Lions are ranked as favourites to win the competition
• Morocco has won the AFCON title only one time in their history

Morocco captain, Romain Saiss has risked the wrath of his countrymen after admitting the Atlas Lions will likely not win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, set to take place in Ivory Coast.

The North African giants, who last won the title in 1976, are desperate to end a 48-year drought and are backed by pundits and fans as one of the teams with a high chance of winning.

According to Morocco World News, Saiss, who will captain Morocco at the tournament, does not not consider his country as one of the favourites to win the competition.

"I understand why people say that, but none of us were born the last time Morocco won the tournament and our coach was playing when we last made it to the final.

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"There are a lot of dangerous teams with great experience too, like Senegal, Cameroon, Algeria, and Egypt. It’s going to be a tough competition, one of the hardest in history."

Some might feel that the comments from the Atlas Lions captain could be a way to ease the pressure on his nation.

Whichever way Saiss' comments are interpreted, the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations will start on January 13 and the final will be played on February 11 in Abidjan.

Morocco are AFCON’s underperformers

Meanwhile, Morocco failed to make it past the group stage across five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments between 2006 and 2013, highlighting their inconsistencies in the competition, the BBC reported.

In the past three editions, the Atlas Lions have been eliminated twice in the quarter-finals by Egypt and once in the last 16 by Benin, but they are hoping 2023 will bring a turnaround in their AFCON fortunes.

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Morocco have been placed in Group F alongside Tanzania, DR Congo, and Zambia for the group phase of the continental showpiece and many believe the World Cup semi-finalists are sure to advance.

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Sports Brief also previously reported on Morocco returning for the 2023 AFCON tournament, one year after becoming the first African country to reach the World Cup semi-finals.

The Atlas Lions have only won one AFCON title throughout their history, which is somewhat shameful for a country with such a wealth of skill and resources in world football.

Morocco must first outperform a group including two previous champions, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as Tanzania to stand a chance of winning it.