Morocco arrive in Durban ahead of Cape Verde clash

Morocco forward Mounir el-Hamdaoui wants the team to meet expectations against Cape Verde Casablanca – Abdullah Al Alawi The Moroccan national team arrived in the South African city of Durban for its crucial group A African Cup of Nations fixture against Cape Verde on Wednesday. Upon arrival, squad doctor Abderazak Hifti told reporters that all the players were "fit and healthy" ahead of their second match in the tournament.
The team held a training session on Sunday in which senior players showed signs of fatigue from their 0-0 draw against Angola on Saturday.
Morocco need to beat Cape Verde to give themselves a chance of going through to the knockout stages.
Meanwhile, Morocco U-23 coach Pim Verbeek has told reporters in Holland that the Morroccan national team will fail to progress beyond the group stages in South Africa.
The Dutchman said coach Rachid Taoussi does not have a good enough squad to compete in the continent-wide tournament. He criticised Taoussi for "making the grave mistake" of not picking flair players such as QPR midfielder Adel Taarabt and Anzhi winger Mbark Boussoufa.
It is not the first time that Verbeek has openly criticised the Moroccan national team, having previously attacked former manager Eric Gerets after his failure at the African Cup of Nations in 2012.
Verbeek has been involved in several controversial incidents since his arrival in Morocco. He is fairly outspoken against match officials, and fans of the national team blame him for the dismissal of Morocco U-23 coach Hamido el-Werka. Verbeek was was also involved in a verbal row with midfielder Houssine Kharja during the London Olympics.