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Morocco’s coach Mohamed Fakhir has rued their missed chances in their 1-0 loss against Cote d’Ivoire which dented their hopes of qualifying for African Nations Championship quarterfinals.

Fakhir looked dazed by the loss which put his team in a quagmire trailing both Rwanda who have already qualified and Cote d’Ivoire.

“We’re in a tough situation after the loss against Cote d’Ivoire though the players gave a good account of themselves we failed to utilise our chances and fell from their solitary goal”

“We’re in a do-or-die situation because we have to beat Rwanda in our last game and hope that the other game ends in a goalless draw to harbour any chance of going past the group,” Fakhir told supersport.com

“In football everything is possible that is why we can’t write off our chances until we play our last group game and see the results from the other game then we can know our fate” he added

Morocco came to the competition as one of the favourite teams but they found the going tough after the draw against Gabon in the opener followed by the loss to Cote d’Ivoire putting paid to their chances of qualification.

Cote d’Ivoire coach Michel Dussuyer has praised his players for their resilience and great character coming from opening defeat to beat Morocco 1-0 in their second match raising their hopes of going past the group stage.

Dussuyer alluded to the fact that after their loss to hosts Rwanda they were determined to bounce back against a tough Morocco.

“I’m happy we finally managed to get three important points after losing in our opener against Rwanda. It was not an easy game but the players showed great character and determination throughout the game thwarting every move from our opponents”

“We’ve passed one hurdle and now we will embark on preparing against Gabon whom we must be to be assured of a place in the quarter finals “Dussuyer told supersport.com — Supersport.