Morocco’s incredible performance in Qatar will go down as one of the FIFA World Cups’ greatest success stories.
The first Arab nation to make it to the quarterfinals of the world championship was a squad that had a new coach only three months before to the start of its campaign in the finals.
Due to their difficult group placement, the North Africans began to assert themselves early on, holding the 2018 runners-up Croatia to a scoreless draw in their opening match.
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From there, the Atlas Lions only brought improvement shocking second-ranked Belgium 2-0 in their next game before wrapping up the group stage with a 2-1 victory over Canada.
They eventually topped the group in which they were rated as the underdogs, advancing to the knockout stage only second time since 1986.
But for Walid Regragui, who took over as coach in August replacing Vahid Halilhodzic after the country’s football federation parted ways with the Bosnian over “disagreement” on team’s preparation for the World Cup, the mission wasn’t accomplished.
As Morocco faced mighty Spain in the last 16, Regragui was confident his team can beat the 2010 champions, and he was spot on.
The North Africans produced a solid defensive performance beating the title contenders on penalties after a goalless draw in 120 minutes to reach the World Cup last 8 for first time.
While becoming the only Arab side to go that far in the tournament, Morocco also became only the fourth African team to reach the quarter-finals after Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010).
The Atlas Lions now face Portugal for a place in the semi-finals on Saturday, and Regragui hopes the best is yet to come from his side.
“I think Africans can go far, why not dream of winning the Cup? We want the next generation to dare to dream,” the Moroccan coach said after win over Spain.
Morocco allowed Spain possession in the epic battle but did not let La Roja pose any danger during the play before goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made two penalty saves to seal a 3-0 victory, with Achraf Hakimi scoring the winning spot kick.
“I followed many of Spain’s matches and I studied them well. We decided to give them possession and we dealt a huge pressure from them with patience. We have a great goalkeeper who did a great job by blocking the kicks during penalties,” said Regragui.
Morocco’s victory against Spain sparked widespread celebrations in the Arab world with fans in different countries cheering for their historic achievement as first Arab country to reach the quarter-finals.
“I am very happy that we are giving joy to the Moroccan people, Arabs and Africans who supported us on and off the field,” said Regragui.
“I told (my players) we should be proud of ourselves. It is an opportunity that may not be repeated. Unfortunately, I did not play in the World Cup. God has now given me an opportunity to make history as a coach. I am the happiest person in the world,” he said.
“We fought and made the Moroccan people happy. We made history and Morocco deserves it. The Moroccan people made us united on the field.”
Meanwhile, Spain coach Luis Enrique praised goalkeeper Bounou for his match-winning performance.
“We gave the game our all, but sadly we lost. We congratulate the victorious group. I feel bad for the supporters,” he remarked.
“Morocco attacked once or twice and posed a threat, but we fully controlled the game. Bounou was outstanding in the penalty shootout. The finest to Morocco, please.
“Moroccan supporters of their team played a significant role. Moroccan supporters filled the stadium to the brim, said Enrique.
