Lhe Atlas Lions didn’t have time to get scared by the Leopards. Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m. (GMT), they tamed the DRC (4-1) for the return match of the Qatar 2022 World Cup play-offs, at the Mohammed V sports complex in Casablanca. The first leg in Kinshasa ended in a rather fortunate draw for the Moroccans (1-1). The reward is therefore immense: the men of Serbian coach Vahid Halilhodzic qualify for the World Cup in Qatar. Their second World Cup, after the one in Russia, and the sixth qualification in their history for the competition. At the stadium, there were more than 80,000 Moroccan supporters who flocked from all over. A few hours before the Morocco-DR Congo match, Abdellatif Hammouchi, the director general of the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) and the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), paid a visit to the Mohammed V complex in Casablanca… security obliges: between 4,000 and 4,500 police officers were mobilized to manage the risks of overflow linked to the match.
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Fierce, like the Atlas Lions
At the Mohammed V stadium in Casablanca, better known as the “Donor” stadium, Moroccan fans came from different cities of the kingdom, but also from other countries. “I came from Paris. I arranged to have all my doses of Covid-19 vaccines injected, did my PCR test, begged a colleague on leave to replace me and bought my tickets in advance… all that to be able to come to Casablanca and attend the second leg of the qualification for the 2022 World Cup. I did not regret my coming. It was well worth the detour! », confides with great joy Achraf, Moroccan living abroad.
All the fans had their eyes on victory. They wanted to see nothing but a string of goals and the Atlas Lions granted their wishes.
Once the kick off whistled by the Burundian referee Pacific Ndabiha, the national team began its offensive very early. Opposite, apart from an early attempt by Amale, from the outside of the right foot, the Congolese did not achieve much.
A small accident took place towards the very beginning of the match without destabilizing Morocco: the injury of their goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou, hit in the brow bone after a head shock from the Congolese Luyindama. The Moroccan goalkeeper remained on the ground for the first time for seven minutes to have the wound sutured. “We all applauded Bounou and his act of bravery… Despite the injury, he got up and continued the match. The whole stadium cheered him on,” Omar tells us.
A few minutes after this minor incident, it was Azzedine Ounahi, the Angers Sco midfielder, who led the way by opening the scoring with a first-line strike from outside the area around minute 21.
A few minutes later, the Moroccan goalkeeper Bounou intervenes to clear a ball from the head, thus aggravating his injury. After intervention by the national team’s medical staff, the Sevilla FC goalkeeper gave way to Munir Mohamedi in the 43e minute. A change that did not shake the Atlas Lions who continued their roar: Tarik Tissoudali drives the point home by scoring the second goal in the 52e minute in added time.
“The first half went very well, we were thrilled! I won’t hide from you that the coach’s tactics have a lot to do with it… Vahid Halilhodzic’s 3-5-2 composition is genius… In midfield, he lines up Amrabat, Amallah, Ounahi, Hakimi and Masina on the corridors while in attack he trusts Tissoudali and El Kaabi”, analyzes Salim, passionate about football.
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Ounahi’s double
In the second half, the Atlas Lions were even more unleashed, too rarely worried by very weak Congolese Leopards. “After Bounou who was the man of the match, it’s Ounahi who deserves to be crowned scorer of the match”, confides, moved, Salma, great lover of the Moroccan national team.
Indeed, Ounahi, served by Tissoudali, offered himself a double towards the 54e minute, thus marking the 3e purpose of the meeting. But the young Moroccan aged barely 21 and who plays as a central midfielder at the French club Angers SCO will be behind the fourth goal, scored by Achraf Hakimi in the seventieth minute.
The Congolese will try somehow to reduce the gap with Ben Malango’s goal, without changing anything too much in the final result: Morocco surpasses Congo and joins Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia and Cameroon in particular in the list African selections qualified for the 2022 World Cup… With the ambition to do better than in Russia, where the Atlas Lions finished dead last in their group behind Spain, Portugal and Iran.
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Moroccans in collective hysteria
In the stadium, the cafes of the kingdom or the homes, the joy was unanimous. Scenes of jubilation were observed Tuesday evening in the various cities of the kingdom as soon as the referee whistled the end of the match. “This will be the second consecutive participation of the Atlas Lions in a World Cup! I’m very happy, Hooray! exclaims Houda, jumping for joy in a café not far from her home.
In Casablanca, Rabat but also Tangier, the supporters, despite the rain, came out in the avenues and boulevards of the northern city, two-tone flags in the skies and chanting hymns to the glory of the national eleven.
“It’s an improvised carnival, jovial, childish! We loved the result, I feel that in the World Cup, the Atlas Lions will win the cup if they play with the same state of mind of this match, “prognosis with zeal and fervor Imad.
Very late at night, the sounds of horns and Moroccan patriotic songs did not stop. The supporters tenorized the performance of the Moroccan players, authors of a faultless course during these qualifiers.
In a hot statement to the press present on the “Donor” field, Moroccan player Nayef Aguerd said: “Our ultimate goal was to make the Moroccan people happy and we did it… Tonight, no one is going to sleep, and neither are we, moreover, we are very happy with our performance! »
For his part, the author of the double, Azzedine Ounahi, said that playing at the “Donor” stadium with such a large audience was a driving force for the national team to be in good shape. “Without the public, we wouldn’t have won, that’s for sure! he confessed.
For his part, the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, Fouzi Lekjaa, said he was very happy like all Moroccans. “Her Majesty called to congratulate the players and the coach. For us, it is a duty to live up to the trust of Moroccans and to make the Moroccan people happy,” he said. And to continue: “I would like to thank this fantastic public who deserve our thanks for their presence and their moral support for the players. »
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A more than respectable track record
The Moroccan national football team played, it should be remembered, eight games before composting its ticket for the 2022 World Cup, including six in the group stage and two in the last round. During the group stage, the Atlas Lions had a solid record by winning their six group matches, against Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Sudan.
Of the 32 participants in the 2022 World Cup, 27 countries have already obtained their ticket to Qatar. For the Europe zone, twelve teams are qualified: – Germany – England – Belgium – Croatia – Denmark – Spain – France – Netherlands – Portugal – Poland – Serbia – Switzerland.
At present, Asia has 5 selections: – Saudi Arabia – South Korea – Iran – Japan – Qatar (host country). South America will be represented by at least four teams: – Argentina – Brazil – Ecuador – Uruguay. For the Africa zone, five qualified selections: – Cameroon – Ghana – Morocco – Senegal – Tunisia. Finally, Canada is currently the only country in the Concacaf zone to have punched its ticket.
The World Cup draw will take place on Friday 1is April at 6 p.m. (French time) in Doha. The nations will be divided into 4 pots of 8 teams.
The tournament is scheduled for a reduced duration between November 21 and December 18.
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