Morocco delivered a historic performance in Qatar 2022
They reached the Semifinals and knocked out two favourites: Spain and Portugal. For two weeks his football and courage infected the whole world with fervor for this Regragui team, a coach who has gone down in history and who will have great challenges to come in the immediate future. But now it’s still time to celebrate and the entire squad has been able to verify it on their return to the country that they filled with pride in the World Championship.
In these hours, where iconic images of Argentina’s celebrations abound, it is worth turning your gaze to Rabat, the Moroccan capital, a place where an emotional crowd like never before has welcomed their loved ones. In order and without incident. After the meeting with the fans, they visited the Rabat Palace and met with King Mohamed VI, Prince Mulay Hassan and his uncle Mulay Rachid The recognition was for less: they became the first African team to reach the Semifinals of a World Cup . And in reality they did much more than that, because the result is just a fraction of an exemplary performance that dazzled everyone.
This group of players demonstrated that logic and assumptions can be thrown into the dustbin in a World Cup. If in the last World Cup, Russia 2018, the feeling was sad (they were eliminated in the Group Phase in a competitive group with Spain, Portugal and Iran), today they couldn’t be happier, and everything is deserved. No one will look at Morocco with the same eyes again. And that will start with their own fans, who have seen how far their boys are capable of going. And that’s why they have pampered them in a big way: with flares, shouts, applause and all the passion that a football-sick country can show.
Never before has a surprise selection in such a large tournament caused such unanimity of criteria. It’s quite possible that the biggest upset in modern football history is still Greece in the European Nations Cup in 2004 (when they beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal at his home and with his people). But, in addition to being a regional tournament after all, the method of that team has always been questioned: extremely defensive and without a hint of attraction. That is not the case of Morocco, who knew how to defend, but also had a wide repertoire in attack, as well as handling the ball with tact, creativity and ingenuity. Everything, backed by a physical energy that is difficult to compare.
This country has a lot to give, it will not be a coincidence or a flash in the pan. The Bono, the Amrabat, the Ziyech, the Hakimi. No one will forget them in the short, medium or long term. But they will not settle for this one in history from now on and forever. They will want to continue writing their names with gold and nothing else. The Qatari sensation’s next big challenge in 2022 is in the offing: the Africa Cup of Nations, which will take place in January 2024 in the Ivory Coast. It sounds far away, but almost nothing is missing. At that time we could be talking again about the mythical Lions of the Atlas. And it would be the most normal thing: they will arrive as natural favorites at that appointment. They have a World left to do and discover, and the World has not seen all of them.