The Incredible Journey Of Morocco In The 2022 FIFA World Cup

1966, withdrew. 1970, group stage elimination. 1986, round of 16 elimination. 1994, group stage elimination. 1998, group stage elimination. 2018, group stage elimination. The record mentioned above does not speak of a champion team, a favourite, or even a dark horse. In fact, it denotes a team that, at its best, can be described as ‘also-rans’. 

And this is why Morocco’s dream run is the stuff of dreams. In the last World Cup, Morocco had produced an underwhelming display as they took only one point and were knocked out in the group stage. They had scored two goals, the least in the FIFA World Cup.

However, four years later, Morocco look like a changed side. Their defence has remained as strong as four years earlier but now has the added support of their midfield and attack, making them the giant killers. Furthermore, this team also sacked their head coach Vahid Halilhodzic three months before the World Cup. 

Any other team would have struggled under these circumstances, but new coach Walid Regragui has steered the ship calmly. Before his appointment, Morocco had already qualified for the World Cup after topping their group with a 100 per cent win record before thrashing DR Congo 5-2 in the third-round qualifiers to book their place in Qatar. 

So, Regragui had big shoes to fill which he has done helping Morocco reach the quarter-finals. Now they stand on the cusp of history, defeat Portugal and become the first-ever African team to reach the semi-final. And the Atlas Lions know what it likes to create history, as they were the first African team to top a World Cup group in 1986.

So, how did Morocco manage to upset the odds at the 2022 FIFA World Cup?

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Morocco national team create history 

Morocco had arrived in Qatar after a brilliant unbeaten qualifying phase. However, after their underwhelming display in 2018, nothing much was expected of the team. On top of that, they were drawn into Group E with 2018 finalists Croatia, Belgium and Canada. This presented them with a considerable challenge, which the Atlas Lions took head-on.

Their first match came against Croatia, and despite having only 32 per cent possession, they managed to have two shots on target. However, their defensive stability helped them eke out a goalless draw. 

The performance was resilient in nature but didn’t inspire confidence among Morocco’s fans and their critics. However, all that would change in just four days when they took on Belgium. At the…