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- Though they will be underdogs when they take on Portugal, the Atlas Lions believe that semifinal place, or more, is now a real possibility
Just 180 minutes. That’s how close Morocco, now preparing for Saturday’s last-eight showdown with Portugal, are to the World Cup final, how close the Arab region is to having a representative in the biggest game of the biggest sporting event there is and how close they are to shaking international football to its very foundations.
Now that the ultimate glory can almost be touched, those who rise to the occasion will see their names immortalized. And they will have the support of not only their home nation but all Arab fans and, probably, much of the world.
Whatever happens in the next week or so, Morocco have earned international respect and genuine admiration. There are pundits in Europe discussing the most effective ways that teams can penetrate the best defense in the tournament so far. In four games, the Reds have conceded just once, a fluke own goal in a 2-1 win over Canada in the final group game. That gave them the top spot following an opening 0-0 draw against Croatia, runner-up in 2018, and a 2-0 win over Belgium, ranked second in the world by FIFA. Only two teams, Netherlands and England, could match the seven points collected by Walid Regragui’s men. It is the highest tally by any Arab team in the history of the tournament.
Then came the second round against Spain, the 2010 champions. The Europeans had more possession, but the Africans had better chances. After 120 minutes with no goals, Morocco approached the penalty shootout with gusto and ended up winning 3-1. The sight of Achraf Hakimi producing a perfect Panenka penalty to clinch the last eight spot not only sent fans in the country wild with delight but also demonstrated the kind of confidence, self-belief and skill that now exists in the ranks.
Rightly so, as the road so far has been almost perfect. Going forward, the route to the last four is blocked by Portugal. There is nobody in Morocco who does not think their team cannot beat the Europeans. There are not that many anywhere who would now be surprised to see the Atlas Lions make the last four and, perhaps, go even further.
“At some point in Africa, we have to be ambitious and why not win the World Cup, even if it’s going to be hard,” Regragui said after the win over Spain.
There is nothing wrong with dreaming, especially as those dreams are not as wild now as they were a few weeks ago. It is not just about Morocco. They are representing the Arab world, and their success reflects well on their neighbors and rivals. The likes of Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Algeria and others have already shown that they can compete with the best in the world and will look at Morocco and ask whether they should be satisfied with just competing and not actually winning consistently.
Morocco’s success shows that there is talent in the region. There will be more European clubs interested in players from that part of the world, which can only be positive. It should provide inspiration to future players at home to take up the game in greater numbers and, if all goes well, the greater involvement and investment from governments and the private sector in response to global success should lead to healthier and stronger grassroots.
The world should be happy too, well, at least those from outside Europe and South America. These are the two traditional power centers of world football and have been for over a century. Pele famously said in 1977 that an African team would win the World Cup by the end of the twentieth century. South Korea reached the last four in 2002 but failed to build on that success. Ghana should have done the same back in 2010 but famously, or infamously, lost to Uruguay. Now there is another chance — and it is Morocco.
“We fought and made the Moroccan people happy. We made history and Morocco deserves it. The Moroccan people made us united on the field,” Regragui said.
To have a team from Africa and the Arab world show a great chance of getting to the semifinals is something that should not just unite Morocco but everyone outside of Europe or South America. This is a real chance. Portugal are obviously a strong team and won a tough group with some comfort and then thrashed Switzerland 6-1, a side that had looked solid at the group stage and were expected to give the Portuguese a tough test.
Yet Switzerland did not have the whole of the Arab world as well as Africa and Asia behind them. They did not have the best defense in the tournament. They did not have stars like Hakim Ziyech, Sofyan Amrabat, Hakimi and others at the top of their games — and they did not have Regragui in charge.
Morocco are still underdogs but not by much, and they are not done yet. It is time to dream and time for European and South American dominance to be seriously challenged. Saturday could be seismic and is sure to be unmissable.