“They took away my pride. I can’t forget that, nor forgive them. Because it should have been my farewell to the coaching career as well,” Halilhodzic, 70, told the Croatian news site. tportal.hr. Morocco, led by Franco-Moroccan Walid Regragui, was the first African team to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup, notably eliminating Spain and Portugal. She finished fourth after losing to Croatia.
Halilodzic said even the tribute his successor paid him “couldn’t cure his bitterness or make up for what (he) missed out on with tournament.” In office since 2019, the former PSG coach had to leave his post in Morocco in August due to a dispute with star striker Hakim Ziyech, whom he had excluded from the team for “disciplinary problems”. The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) then spoke of an “amicable” separation due to “divergence of points of view about the preparation of the Atlas Lions”.