World Cup 2022: Morocco's miracles are deserved

The right to go to knock-out round was regarded as the most outstanding achievement that Moroccan players could achieve. Few football fans, even loyalty fans of Morocco team, believed Morocco could keep a clean sheet for 90 minutes and beat Spain in a penalty shootout. 

In fact, Morocco has only participated in the World Cup six times in its history and has never gone further than the round of 16 in the previous five. Morocco is too small for Spain, the football team that is ranked seventh in the FIFA rankings and has won both the Euro and World Cup.

Before the matches against Spain, many football fans believed that Spain would have a series of goals against Morocco. However, the Spain fans must have felt bad luck when Pablo Sarabia's shot hit the post in the final minute of extra time. That was almost "La Roja's" best chance of the game.

Even when the match's outcome was determined by a penalty shootout, football fans could not recall Spain's worst performance.

When Pablo Sarabia shed tears after the failure of the first penalty and Sergio Busquets lost his mind after a failed penalty shootout, people knew how disappointed the bulls were. Spain had 77% possession the whole game, taking 13 shots, but they lacked goals. "La Roja's" pre-tournament concerns came true; they can do very well in every aspect of the game, except for the goal.

Spain failed 3 penalties

Spain seemed to have to face an opponent who understood them too well. In the first half of the last century, Morocco was a colony of Spain. Many current Moroccan players grew up in the Spanish club's academy and became famous thanks to La Liga. Achraf Hakimi, who took the penalty that decided to send Morocco to the quarterfinals, was born in Madrid and was rejected by Real. Yassine Bounou, the goalkeeper who saved two penalties in the penalty shootout, was born in Canada but developed his career through Spanish football.

Achraf Hakimi

However, Morocco did not win by being lucky or understanding Spain. In every match, they displayed bravery, spirit, and sound strategy.

Six and a half hours have passed in this World Cup, and no opponent has beaten Bounou except his teammates. The only goal the Sevilla goalkeeper received in the 2022 World Cup came from his teammate's own goal in the match against Canada. Neither team has scored against the "Lion of Atlas" since coach Walid Regragui began to lead this team on August 31. The North African team held a draw with Croatia and defeated Belgium in the group stage.

Morocco beat Belgium 

Morocco played an excellent game both tactically and mentally. "Atlas Lion" came out on the field with a spirit that lived up to their nickname. They dispute on every square meter of the field, are not afraid to control the ball, and are ready to counterattack. Walid Cheddira, a substitute, had two clear scoring opportunities against Unai Simon, but both missed.

The level of a player playing in Serie B cannot help Cheddira finish the opponent in regular time. But no matter; the rest of the North African team played well. Morocco became the fourth African team in history to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup. After Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in the 2002 tournament, and Ghana at the 2010 World Cup, "Lion Atlas" became the next team from the black continent to surprise.

Gaining a ticket to the quarterfinals is also the result of the football programs' development.

The last time Moroccan football passed the World Cup group stage was 36 years ago in Mexico in 1986. At that time, "Atlas Lion" also possessed a generation of talent, and in the round of 16, they only lost 0-1, against West Germany, and the team then reached the final.

None of the Moroccan players in the current squad were born when the national team made history in the 1986 World Cup. More than three decades later, the North African team found another generation of talented players. Bounou (Sevilla), Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern), Achraf Hakimi (PSG), Youssef En-Nesyri (Sevilla), or Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea) are playing for the top clubs in European football.

The 2018 World Cup is Morocco's first time participating in the World Cup in 20 years, but they had to leave the tournament because they ranked last after the group stage ended.

However, in recent years, Morocco has changed dramatically, both in terms of the quality of its players and the attitude of its people toward football.

Football development programs, focusing on youth training, have been developed by the Football Federation of Morocco (FRMF) for many years.

Women's football matches attracted record numbers of spectators, which is not common for an Arab or African country. As an inevitable consequence of football's rise, Morocco's fans create real carnivals in the stands in Qatar. The economic condition of Moroccan fans is of course not equal to that of European fans, but love has guided them, helping Moroccan players to play "like at home."

To summarize, Morocco is rightfully proud of their achievement in the World Cup 2022, thanks to their spirit and strategies.They are the fourth African representative that could appear in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Their opponent in the next round is Portugal. This will be a big mountain for them in the World Cup journey, but everything could happen. If they beat Belgium or Spain, anything is possible.