By Nick Said
HOUSTON, July 4 (Reuters) - A change in system has thrust Morocco midfielder Azzedine Ounahi into a new role higher up the pitch and led to his two goals in Saturday’s 3-0 World Cup round-of-16 victory over Canada, said coach Mohamed Ouahbi.
Morocco were comprehensive winners after struggling to break down Canada in the first half, with Ounahi bagging their first two goals in an outstanding display of finishing.
"We have changed our system, so he now plays further up the pitch," Ouahbi
told reporters.
"He has to play more in the final third. He is a very valuable player and able to break through the opponent's press with his runs and breaking through the lines."
Canada created more opportunities in the first half, with their coach Jesse Marsch describing his side as being in "total control". But Morocco were much improved after the break.
"The first half was very intense, there were a few adjustments to be made at halftime," Ouahbi said. "We showed some video at the break and after that we were a lot more in control.
"I won’t go into detail of what we said, because we have some more games to play. We did not change our identity or game philosophy, but we had to use our midfield and (goalkeeper Yassine) Bounou to stop them pressing.
"We knew there were spaces behind (the defence) that we could exploit."
Ouahbi was also impressed by the resilience of his side when they were unable to gain control of the game in the opening period.
"We tried to make our players understand this is the World Cup, which means there will be difficult moments. What matters is that when we are not at our best, we need to be resilient," he said.
"When people talk about Morocco they are talking about a real contender and a major footballing nation. That is a great source of pride.
"We want to keep going, we don’t want to stop. We will keep the same ambition and same goal (to win the World Cup)."
One big worry for Morocco was the sight of their leading striker Ismael Saibari limping off midway through the first half.
"I have not had a chance to talk to the doctor yet," the coach said. "Saibari had some pain in his thigh. We will know more in the next few days."
(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Ken Ferris)
