FIFA World Cup: Morocco against all odds

Dimapur, Dec. 15 (EMN): Morocco defied all odds at the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, becoming the first African nation in history to reach the semi-final of the World Cup, beating the likes of football giants and powerhouses such as Spain, Portugal and Belgium along the way.

Their performance has been exceptional, rallying the African nations and the Muslim world behind its back in what may be considered the greatest underdog story in the history of the World Cup.

Nicknamed ‘the Atlas Lions’, Morocco impressed in their group matches by finishing top of the group, which included Croatia, Belgium and Canada.

The defensive unanimity of the Atlas Lions and the tactics by their manager Walid Regragui proved key to their successful campaign in the tournament.

Morocco’s World Cup campaign started with their group match against Croatia, which ended in a draw.

A 2-0 win against Belgium, one of the top FIFA ranked team and the ‘golden generation’, supposed to win the Euro and World Cup, put the Atlas Lions in the driver seat of their group.

In their last group match, Morocco beat Canada 2-1 finishing top of their group with 7 points, 2 wins and a draw.

Morocco followed that up by defeating 2010 World Cup winners Spain and Euro 2016 champions Portugal in the knockout stages.

In the Round of 16, Morocco held Spain to a 0-0 draw in regulation time forcing the match to penalty kicks. Morocco won 3-0 sending Spain home.

It may be mentioned that in the match, Spain possessed 77 percent of the ball, while Morocco possessed only 23 percent.

In their quarter-final match against Portugal, a header by En-Neysri right before half-time was enough to send Portugal home and the Moroccans to their first and Africa's first World Cup semi-final against France, the current World Cup champions.