Morocco head coach Reynald Pedros believes his side’s achievements are on the same level as those of the men’s team who reached the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The Atlas Lionesses reached the Round of 16 in their debut World Cup, before being defeated 4-0 by France in Adelaide.

Pedros reflected on his team’s overall tournament performance, after they created history in Australia.

“I want to congratulate and thank my team,” Pedros said in his post-match press conference.

“We’ve been together as a team since June 12, working day-in and day-out. It’s unthinkable that we managed to reach the Round of 16.

“I sincerely think that reaching the knockouts in our first World Cup is worth the same as the Men’s team reaching the World Cup semi-final in Qatar 2022.”

Despite a spirited run, Morocco were eventually downed by a high-quality French team, and Pedros believes his side needed to be more physical to compete.

“Obviously the further we get the harder it is for us, and today we were missing aggression. The French team are very experienced and have great tactics, but we weren’t able to match their aggression which was unfortunate. After the early goal, the mistakes piled up, but we did get better in the second half.

“We’re not efficient defending in our box. It was an issue against Germany, and I said that to the team after that match. We cannot leave players unmarked because they of very high quality. We need to be more aggressive in both boxes and win our one-on-ones, and that’s where there is room for improvement.”

Looking ahead, Pedros and Morocco’s attention now turns to Olympic qualification, which starts in October.

“Now it’s back to work, we need to get our heads down. Tournaments like this allow our players to feed off the experience. They help us learn and fill gaps, so we won’t make the same mistakes again.

“I’m very proud to be the coach of the national team, because are fantastic players.

“All the best to France though, I hope they go on to become world champions!”

The Atlas Lionesses begin their qualifying campaign for Paris 2024 with a trip to Namibia, on October 23.

Cameron Wyper