Morocco coach Walid Regragui hailed his side’s efforts after their World Cup dreams came to an end following a 2-0 semi-final defeat to France on Wednesday.

Theo Hernandez put the defending champions ahead as early as the fifth minute and Regragui admits that the early goal made a huge impact on the rest of the match for Morocco.

“We gave our all, that’s the most important thing. The boys fought until the last minute,” said Regragui.

“If I have any regrets about this game, it would be mainly conceding that goal quickly — it gave the French team even more certainty to stick with their approach.”

In Qatar, Morocco had advanced to the knockout stage by winning games despite frequently giving up possession.

At the Al Bayt stadium, things were very different, as Regragui’s squad had 51% of the ball possession but still couldn’t score against the French.

“We said that if they gave us the ball, we would take it. We did that but we made too many technical mistakes in the first half,” said the Morocco coach.

“In the second half we were smarter, we gave away fewer balls and we caused them problems, creating a lot of opportunities but we weren’t decisive in that final 30 metres.

“We wanted to get a goal and give them some doubts. But with their attacking talents, we knew we could be punished at any moment and that’s what happened with the second goal.

“We lost a lot of players who did their best. (Noussair) Mazraoui was ill but he played, Saiss too. I have nothing to say when the players give their maximum.

“We could have scored, but unfortunately a goal didn’t come. May the Moroccans forgive us. We wanted to go to the final but… next time, God willing.”

Despite getting eliminated in the semi-finals of the tournament, Regragui says his side can hold their heads high after their impressive performance throughout the World Cup.

“We gave the maximum, that’s the most important thing,” he said. “The most important thing is to have given a good image, to have shown the world that Moroccan football exists and that we have beautiful supporters.

“To reach the very, very highest level, to win a World Cup, we still have to work but we are not very far away.”