Bilal El Khannouss: “We played until the end and we won.”

Moroccan international Bilal El Khannouss, midfielder for Leicester City, spoke to Arryadia after the match about the victory of the Atlas Lions against Niger in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Africa zone. Aware of the expectations placed on his team, he highlighted the difficulty of the match and the importance of being able to assert themselves in competitive encounters.

Morocco secured a win against a determined Nigerien team, and El Khannouss acknowledged that not all matches can be won with a wide margin.

“We knew it was going to be a difficult match. We can’t win every time by 4 or 5 goals. There are teams that come here as if they’re playing for their lives, and we know that any team playing against us wants to beat us. But we played until the end and we won.”

This fighting mentality until the last minute allowed the Atlas Lions to achieve their fourth consecutive victory in these qualifiers.

In addition to the collective victory, Bilal El Khannouss had a special evening as he scored his very first goal for Morocco. It was a significant moment for the Genk-trained player, who now hopes to keep scoring.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. I scored my first goal with the first team and I’m very happy. I hope this will be the beginning of many more goals.”