World Cup: Morocco’s semi spot keeping Africa’s hope alive
The Atlas Lions of Morocco, against all odds have set new record as the first African country to qualify for semi-final of the FIFA World Cup.
The North African country achieved this feat after their hard earned victory over Portugal in the ongoing World Cup in Qatar, in a quarter final match.
The North African side had stunned Belgium and Spain earlier in the tournament.
Morocco continued its shocking run to the 2022 FIFA World Cup semifinals after defeating Portugal in the quarterfinals by 1-0 at the Al Thumama stadium.
Moroccan striker En-Nesyri scored in the first half of the game, profiting from Portugal goalkeeper, Diogo Costa’s mistake.
The first-half strike was enough to seal the win for not just Morocco but the entire African continent, as the country became the only African side to reach the World Cup semifinals.
Before now, in 1990, Cameroon startled the reigning champions Argentina, Romania and Colombia end route to the quarter finals, only to be stopped by England in a breathtaking match.
Senegal was in quarter finals in 2002. The team was really in form throughout the tournament, dispatching big nations game by game until an agonising defeat to Turkey ended the Lion’s World Cup run.
The third quarter finalists Ghana at South Africa 2010 missed the services of their star player, Michael Essien due to injury. They were not deemed any chance of emerging from the group stage. But, they had a sense of purpose and fortitude in the tournament, making it past the group stages. They defeated the defending champion, France in the group stage, defeated the U.S. in the round of 16 before “Luis Suarez’s hand denied them” of semi final when they met Uruguay in the semi finals.
And now, the Moroccans scripted history with a maiden semi-final appearance, the nation’s first at FIFA World Cups. Morocco beat Spain on penalties to qualify for the quarter-finals. They then shocked tournament favourites Portugal 1-0 to make the semis. This was the first time an African nation advanced to the semi-finals of a World Cup tournament.
Earlier, they topped their group without facing a defeat. The team beat Belgium and Canada to advance to the Round of 16 for only the second time in their history.
Morocco, ranked 22nd in the world, has been in scintillating form in the FIFA World Cup 2022. They were perceived as underdogs in most of their fixtures but always found a way to win the game against their opponents and they became the first African team to top a FIFA World Cup group since Nigeria in 1998.
They have now defeated World Cup favourites like Belgium, Portugal and also Spain in the Round of 16 of the competition and are yet to concede a goal from an opposition player.
Their win guarantees Africa 11 slots in the 2026 World Cup. 9 permanent slots (because of the number of participating countries that has increased to 48), one via playoff and the last one because they reached the semifinal.
Their win against Portugal guaranteed them a semifinal spot which will be against France, who defeated England 2-1 in the other quarter final match played later on Saturday. The semifinal will be played on Wednesday, 14th of December by 8 pm WAT, while Argentina faces Croatia earlier on Tuesday.
Portugal was favoured to defeat Morocco in the quarterfinal match with a FIFA ranking 9 vs. 22, but the Moroccan squad known as “Atlas Lions” delivered a historic victory of 1-0. Youssef En-Nesyri scored the winning goal.
Portugal’s superstar Cristiano Ronaldo missed the first half, but couldn’t deliver a win for his national team in the second. This is believed to be Ronaldo’s last World Cup. The 37-year-old may soon sign with the Saudi club Al-Nassr, which reportedly made him over $200 million offer.
Morocco delivered a seminal moment in the nearly 100-year history of football’s biggest tournament, beating Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal team 1-0 in another shocking result in the first World Cup staged in the Middle East.
“Pinch me, I’m dreaming,” Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou said. “Morocco is ready to face anyone in the world. We have changed the mentality of the generation coming after us. They’ll know Moroccan players can create miracles.”
There is joy in the air, not just amongst Moroccan players, nor just in the length and breadth of the landscape called Morocco, but across the entire continent of Africa and even the Arab world.
Africa finally has a team in the World Cup semi-finals. This would in no small measure earn the continent some level of respect in the world of football. With Morocco at this level, hopes are being rekindled for Africa. Win or lose, Morocco is playing the maximum number of matches of the tournament. If they lose the semis, they are billed for third place match. If they have beaten Belgium, rated as number 2 in the world, beat Spain and Portugal, who says they can’t beat France? If they beat France, they are already in the final. And by some luck and hard work, they can grab the trophy for Africa, and that would amount to an enviable achievement.
African footballers in the diaspora are doing excellently well. We have them in number and quality. We believe it’s high time we encouraged them to come back home to identify with us, by playing for their father’s land. By so doing, it won’t be this difficult to achieve the world cup glory that seems so elusive to Africa.
Morocco’s success is a big lesson for Nigeria to learn in the field of football and areas where the world has underrated the country. Can we do that? The 2023 general election will be the acid test for Nigeria to lose or emerge victorious as a country that the people speak with one voice regardless of religion and ethnic background.
