Wahbi: This is the most important match of my coaching career.

Morocco coach Walid Regragui has described the round-of-16 meeting with Canada as the hardest match of his team’s World Cup campaign and possibly the biggest of his managerial career.

At his pre-match press conference, Regragui said Morocco’s earlier progress would count for nothing unless the players produced their best level on the day. He praised Canada’s organisation, energy and clear identity, adding that the North American side know exactly what they want to do with and without the ball.

Regragui also declined to engage with talk from Canada’s coach about physical superiority, saying he preferred to focus only on the task in front of Morocco. He said the team were trying to avoid getting carried away after reaching the knockout stage.

On the squad, he said defender Jawad El Yamiq took a knock to the knee in the previous match but did not appear to have a serious injury. Regragui added that anyone selected would be fully ready, and insisted mental recovery was more important than physical recovery after Morocco’s 120-minute game against the Netherlands.