Morocco coach, Herve Renard, has taken the blame for their shock Round of 16 defeat to Benin, at the Africa Cup of Nations on Friday.
The 1976 champions saw their hopes of lifting a second continental title dashed by The Squirrels, who emerged 4-1 winners in the penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw after extra-time.
The North African Africans missed a penalty on the stroke of full-time through Hakim Ziyech and also played the last 23 minutes of the game with one more man, following the sending off of Benin’s Khaled Adenon.
“I will like to congratulate Benin for their win. They played according to a specific strategy and it worked.
“We did not find any solutions. We could have won but we failed.
“We had high expectations but still had difficulties against those who adopted a defensive style.
“I am responsible for this defeat. I will like to protect my players and I won’t say anything against them even though they did not perform well. I think all the players did their best and I cannot blame them.
“I will like to thank all the fans who came to Egypt to support their team and I feel embarrassed for them,” Renard said at the post-match press conference.
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