Nigeria, Dec. 21 -- Fifty years of waiting weigh heavily on Morocco's golden generation. On the eve of AFCON 2025, the message from the Atlas Lions' leadership is clear: ambition must walk hand in hand with humility.

Head coach Walid Regragui and captain Achraf Hakimi addressed the press on Saturday at the tournament's Main Media Centre, barely 24 hours before Morocco kick off their campaign against Comoros at the Africa Cup of Nations.

For a host nation desperate to end a half-century continental drought, the stakes could hardly be higher.

Regragui, still revered across Africa after guiding Morocco to a historic World Cup semi-final run in Qatar in 2022, did not shy away from Morocco's status as one of the tournament favourites. But t...