An Arab team are now 90 minutes away from the World Cup final.
Morocco may face their toughest test yet in Wednesday’s semifinal against defending champions France but there is belief, excitement and plenty more beside in the camp of the Atlas Lions. It is easy to understand why for a team that topped their group above Croatia and Belgium and went on to eliminate Spain and then Portugal. There are not many European powerhouses left for Morocco to dump out of the competition.
Morocco are the story of the 2022 World Cup, whatever happens at Al-Bayt Stadium, and they not only have the Arab region and the whole of Africa cheering them on, but also much of the planet as well. The heroic players have gone from outsiders to popular underdogs, and now contenders. And there is the unavoidable fact that a team that has beaten Belgium, Spain and Portugal can beat France. If they do that then they can beat Croatia or Argentina. If they do that then they will be world champions. It is a thrilling prospect.
The performance against Portugal just confirmed the growing belief that it is possible. After the win over Spain, it was expected that the Selecao, with greater firepower than their Iberian neighbors, would provide a tougher test. It did not turn out like that.
It was a tight 1-0 win for Morocco but a deserved one. The Europeans had more of the possession but that is a stat that has mattered less and less in this tournament. The Arab team broke forward dangerously time and time again and looked comfortable in the face of increasingly frantic Portuguese attacks. The fact that Cristiano Ronaldo was brought on early in the second half and barely had a sniff said it all.
And more impressive was the fact that the game ended with just one of the usual back four on the pitch. Captain and inspiration Romain Saiss was stretchered off with a hamstring issue. He has vowed, understandably, to “give everything” to be fit for the semifinal.
His central defensive partner Nayef Aguerd is also hoping to start, as is left-back Noussair Mazraoui. It is almost incredible, and a testament to the team’s organization, that in their absence the backline still held out and has still conceded just one goal from the last eight games. Striker Walid Cheddira will be absent after picking up a quickfire double booking.
These are now household names. Before the tournament, it was all about Hakim Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi. The stars from Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain have stood out but others have more than played their part. The goalkeeper of the tournament is surely going to be Yassine Bounou who has been beaten just once and that was by an unfortunate deflected own goal. The Sevilla stopper is a hugely reassuring presence between the sticks. He also knows what this run to the last four means for the country and the wider region.
“These kinds of moments are difficult to believe,” said Bounou, “but we’ve come to change the mentality, our insecurity. Moroccan players can compete against anyone in the world. I think the most important thing, except the semifinal and that, is that we’ve changed that mentality and the generation after us will know that Moroccan players can do all this.”
That is the message that is ringing out loud and clear. If Morocco can do it then the other Arab giants can do something similar. European and South American teams have always won the World Cup but that is not an immutable law. One day it is going to change and new teams from new continents will reign over all others. It could be Morocco this month, it could be Saudi Arabia in the next decade or it could be Egypt in 20 years but it is a matter of when and not if.
France, of course, will have plenty to say. The champions will pit their attack of Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann against the best defense in the World Cup. When one is quiet, as Mbappe was in that hard-fought 2-1 quarterfinal win over England, the other two step up.
It is a test for the Moroccan backline but then France have not looked entirely comfortable at the back and given the attacking talent that the Lions have, and the way they break forward quickly, there are sure to be opportunities.
There is another, huge, factor in Morocco’s favor: The fans. This will practically be a home game for the Reds and it is something that Les Bleus have not yet had to face in this tournament, with almost the entire stadium set to support Morocco. The noise will, once again, be deafening, and the excitement levels off the charts. In what could be a very tight game, the fans could make the all-important difference.
And then there is coach Walid Regragui, the man who came in just at the end of August and is on the brink of making an unforgettable history. The sight of the 47-year-old being thrown into the air by players at the final whistle has become one of the tournament’s enduring images and he would love nothing more than to be tossed skyward once more on Wednesday.
“We are becoming the team that everyone loves at this World Cup because we are showing that even if you don’t have as much talent, if you show that desire, heart and belief, you can achieve,” he said in comparing his team to Rocky Balboa, the legendary fictional boxer who never knows when he is beaten.
“I am sure many of you will say this is a miracle, but we have won without conceding against Belgium, Spain and Portugal, and that’s the result of hard work. We can dream — why shouldn’t we dream about winning the World Cup?”
