Fajr: "We're at the Africa Cup of Nations to try and win it"

Fayçal Fajr has been one of the stand-out performers at the Africa Cup of Nations. The RC Deportivo midfielder pulls the strings at the heart of a Morocco team that face Egypt in the quarter-finals in Port-Gentil this Sunday.

He is not the only LaLiga player in the Atlas Lions squad, given that Munir, Yassine Bounnou, Youssef En-Nesyri and Medhi Carcela play alongside him there. Together, they will try and see Morocco safely through to the final four at this year's tournament with victory on Sunday.

Question: Are you nervous before a match as important as a quarter final at the Africa Cup of Nations?

Answer: I don't think you should be nervous before playing football, although we are really looking forward to this match. It's been a long time coming.

Question: You made it out of a tough group against some world-class opposition…

Answer: Yes, it wasn't easy. We had to play the defending champions Ivory Coast, as well as DR Congo, who are another great team… but we made it through the groups. I'm sure that there are many people who didn't expect us to make it to the quarter finals, but here we are. If we work hard and calmly prepare for our matches, we have a good squad and could really do something at this tournament.

Question: Individually, you've been one of the stars of the tournament. How does that make you feel? The crossbar stopped you from scoring one of the goals of the tournament with that free kick against Ivory Coast…  

Answer: I've had time to play. Despite starting the first match on the bench and only playing 20 minutes, I started the other two games and I'm comfortable out on the pitch. The free kick wasn't meant to be, but we won and that's the most important thing. I'm sure that I'll get the chance to help my team with another free kick in the fixtures we have left.

Question: How far can this Morocco squad go?

Answer: We're at the Africa Cup of Nations to try and win it, but we know it won't be easy. We're up against a tough opponent in Egypt in this Sunday's quarter-final match which we must win. We respect the opposition, but we want to go as far as possible.

Question: Have you been following events at Deportivo whilst in Gabon?

Answer: Yes! I'm up to date with what's going on at Deportivo. I couldn't watch their last match because I was playing with Morocco, but I did catch the game against Villarreal and the Copa del Rey clash with D. Alaves… I also check out the club's website to see photos of my teammates in training.