Munir Mohand: "We want to achieve something wonderful and savour it with the Moroccan people"

A total of 17 LaLiga players have been competing in the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon throughout the month of January, vying for the continent's biggest footballing prize. One of the stars who plies his trade in Spain and is hungry for glory on Gabonese soil is Munir Mohand Mohamedi.

Munir is the CD Numancia number 1 in LaLiga 1|2|3, but today the shotstopper will be proudly sporting a Morocco shirt against an Ivory Coast side with Granada CF's Victorien Angban in their ranks, knowing a win or draw against the holders will secure a quarter-final berth for Herve Renard's charges.

Munir isn't the only LaLiga representative in the Atlas Lions squad, with RC Deportivo's Fayçal Fajr, Granada's Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez, Malaga CF's Youssef En-Nesyri and Girona FC's Yassine Bounou also on tournament duty in Gabon.

The players are determined to put paid to Morocco's run of disappointing Africa Cup of Nation showings, with the country failing to make it out of the group stage since the 2004 edition in Tunisia, when they managed to reach the final before succumbing to the hosts. Munir and his teammates are certainly not putting any limits on how far they can go this time around.

Q: How are the team feeling ahead of the crucial clash against Ivory Coast?
A: It's a final for us. It's a special game which we have to win. A draw is good enough, but we know that we need to go into it targeting victory. We think it's time to put an end to Morocco's bad run in this competition, which is why we have to reach the quarter-finals. We hope to take that long-awaited step forward.

Q: This Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon is the first time that you have featured in the finals of an international tournament. What's the experience been like for you so far?
A: I feel proud to be here; wearing the Morocco shirt is an honour. I'm enjoying it. I prepared and waited for this opportunity for a long time. After always watching these sorts of tournaments on TV, it's quite something to suddenly find yourself there. I also feel a big sense of responsibility because there are millions of people behind us. We want to achieve something wonderful and savour it with the Moroccan people.

Q: Including you, there are five LaLiga representatives in the Morocco dressing room. Is there a special bond between you?
A: We're all like one big family in the dressing room. That said, it's true that most of the players are based in Europe and that those of us who speak the same foreign language have more things in common. In our case, we tend to spend more time together because, since we're all Spanish speakers, we're more in step with each other when it comes to banter.

Q: You watched Numancia's match against Levante UD from Gabon: how did you find it?
A: We knew beforehand that it would be a really tough game, they're the league leaders and they've got a lot of ability, and it was a really good, hard-working performance from our lads, even if they ended up empty-handed. We'll take the positives.

Q: You've been away for a fair few days now. What's your take on the team's situation from afar?
A: We're in good form, playing well and picking up points. What's more, in recent games we've looked really assured defensively, which will stand us in very good stead for the rest of the season as we look to achieve our targets.