The amazing journey that stunned the world has come to an end at the Al Bait Stadium. Defying all predictions, the Moroccan struggle to overcome the giants fell short in the face of French prowess. Morocco fought in Qatar by making all history a myth. The same momentum continued past the group stage and into the knockout stages. In the final semi-final, the defending champions stormed to the final and Morocco turned away without reply. At Al Bait, where the clamor had ceased, the dreams of the Atlas Lions were shattered. But the return is with the head held high. They bowled so beautifully. Capturing the hearts of game lovers…
After the World Cup group fixtures, many wrote off Morocco. Because they were strong. Belgium, Croatia and Canada have joined Morocco in Group F. All the fans predicted that the current runners-up, Croatia, and Belgium, which has the brightest stars in club football, will easily advance to the knockout stage from Group F. Because they didn’t have the history to think that the relatively weak Morocco and Canada would challenge.
But on the field it was seen that all the predictions were wrong. All calculations were wrong. Morocco packed the fields in Qatar. In the first match, the opponents were the current runners-up Croatia. Croatia was in the lead in possession and creating chances. However, the Croat line consisting of Modric, Kovacic and Perisic could not break through the Moroccan fortress no matter how hard they tried. The match ended in a goalless draw.
The opponents in the second match were Belgium. The World Cup was also the last chance for the Red Devils to win the title. But they could not recognize the magic that Morocco had infused into their boots. Belgium’s defense faltered in the face of Morocco’s counter-attacks. Belgium had more of the ball position in the match. But the Moroccans, who shook the goal in the opportunities they had, hit the net twice. The famous Belgium forward line could not answer that.
Morocco advanced to the pre-quarter after defeating Canada in the last group match. An own goal by defender Nayef Agwerde gave Canada the lead as Morocco found the back of the net twice. It was also a match that saw all the aggression from the Moroccan forward line. From the right wing, Hakim Ziyech and Ashraf Hakimi constantly entered the box with advances. Many shots were fired. Thus, Morocco is progressing to the knockout stage as group champions by playing full field.
Former champions Spain also failed to defeat Morocco in the pre-quarters. Spain dominated possession throughout the match. But again they realized the fact that they cannot win without scoring goals. As both the teams failed to score after the regular time and extra time, a penalty shootout was needed to decide the winners. Spain lost its footing there. Spain failed miserably in the shootout without being able to score a single kick. Moroccan goalkeeper Bono became their hero with some excellent saves.
After conquering Spain, Morocco won a historic victory. It is the first time in the history of the World Cup that Morocco has reached the quarterfinals. They also became the fourth African country to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Cameroon became the first African nation to reach the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup. Then in 2002, Senegal and in 2010, Ghana reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Morocco was also the first African country to defeat Spain in the World Cup since Nigeria in 1998.
Morocco’s opponents in the quarter were the Portuguese team who defeated the Swiss team by six goals to one in the pre-quarters. No one thought Morocco would be able to stop Cristiano’s dream of a world title. The forward and midfield were strong against Morocco without Cristiano Ronaldo. But they shocked Portugal right from the start. With high pressing and counter-attacks, Morocco became a surprise at the Al Thumama Stadium. He took the lead in the first half.
In the second half, Rono was brought on and tried to fight back, but Morocco held firm with increased energy. All advances were repulsed by the fort. The sports world was stunned by Morocco’s performance in the final minutes. The trailing team will naturally become defensive in the final minutes of the match. Instead of rushing to play forward, he will play defensively. But Morocco’s gameplan was different. They also saw Portugal rattled in the final minutes. At no point did they give up their attack and pressing. In the end, Rono left the field in tears in the pain of having all his dreams shattered. About history, Morocco advanced to the semi-finals.
In the semi-finals, the Morocco coach made a strategy by fielding three center backs. This contrasted Morocco’s style of play seen throughout the tournament. France scored within five minutes of the match. France left back Theo Hernandez scored the goal. Theo was the first opposition player to score against Morocco in the tournament. But minutes later, Selim Amalla was replaced by center back and captain Romain Saiz.
Later on the field saw Morocco shaking the reigning champions. Morocco, who made constant advances from the wings, stormed the French goal. But only the goal stayed away. Finally, in the second half, Morocco suffered defeat after France scored for the second time. Congratulations for the amazing journey. Hakeem Ziyech and his team return by taking the entire sports world by storm.