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Opinion

Moroccan Mayhem

No matter what happens in the semi-final against France, Morocco has won hearts across the globe with their prodigious display of football throughout the World Cup

Moroccan Mayhem
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World Cups, be it football or cricket, have seen numerous occasions of upsets by underrated teams, often referred to as underdogs. But on some occasions, these teams come up with upsets one after another thereby establishing their country's best-ever performance in the multi-nation tournaments. One such classic has been Morocco's story in the ongoing FIFA World Cup.

This World Cup, despite Qatar being surrounded by all kinds of controversies in the bad light, has undoubtedly been one of the best tournaments in terms of the quality of football being played. We saw the rise of Asian teams like Japan and South Korea, the AI predicted favourites — Brazil — getting knocked out in the penultimate minutes despite leading throughout the match, Italy not making it to the mains, powerhouses like Germany, Belgium and Uruguay not getting through to the knockouts and whatnot!

Let's get back to the journey of the first African nation to reach the World Cup semis. Having placed in Group F, alongside Belgium, Croatia and Canada, none would have imagined Morocco to make it through to the Round of 16 before the tournament started. But Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech and co had other ideas. It started with a goalless draw against the much-determined Croatian side that merely earned them a pat on the back. A 2-0 win in the next game against World number 2, Belgium, raised many eyebrows and the Moroccan side earned respect. The African side plays a defensive game and attacks on the counter in most cases. Against Belgium, they merely had 35 per cent of the ball. The same was the case in their match against Croatia. Having the ball for a lesser amount of time and managing to win in the fewer chances they have is a testimony to how mature smaller nations can be in terms of playing football. They have been doing it the hard way — soaking the pressure for most of the game.

With such a promising display of football by minnow teams, what comes to my mind is FIFA's statement to increase the number of teams from 32 to 48 for the next World Cup. This will only make things better and break the hegemony of the European teams in world football. It won't be the case of the big fish eating the 'smaller' ones anymore.

Morocco went on to win the final group match against Canada 2-1 and topped the group. As a result, Belgium was knocked out and their 'Golden Generation' was left heartbroken. Interestingly, the only goal they conceded in the entire tournament so far including penalty shootouts was against Canada! This shows how resilient the Moroccan defence has been — putting bodies on the line. What followed next was beyond imagination.

Spain looked like one of the favourites to make it to the semis but found it hard to break the Moroccan defence in the knockout game. Spain had 77 per cent of the ball possession in 120 minutes but only managed to have one shot on target. It was the same Spanish team that boasted of having scored nine goals in the opening three games. Even during the penalty shootout, their goalkeeper Yassine Bounou came to the rescue and ensured that Spain didn't score a single goal. Sounds like a movie script?

These are the names not many knew. These are the names that are now drawing the attention of top-flight football clubs across the world. That's how marvellous has the Moroccan team has been. They had a hero, whenever they needed one.

Came to the quarterfinals, and everyone expected Portugal to win. But Morocco's dream run continued. Again they just had 26 per cent of the possession but looked threatening throughout whenever they went up the pitch. Not only was Ronaldo's dream of winning football's ultimate prize was shattered, but they have now established themselves as a team with immaculate defence standards. Irrespective of what happens in the semi-final against France, they have already lived a part of their nation's footballing history that can only get better.

This season not just saw Morocco's rise. Japan looked formidable too. Many other smaller teams looked like a force to beat. For any football fanatic, this is what we want to see (except for our favourite team to win) — teams tussling neck to neck and ensuring there is no cakewalk.

With the semi-final spot sealed, Morocco bettered their previous performance in 1998 when they were eliminated in the quarter-finals. Can the Atlas Lions win the World Cup? A slim chance still exists. We all love an underdog story, don't we? Even if they don't, they have managed to win admirers all across the world with hard-fought victories with a team that had no Neymars, Messis, Ronaldos or Mbappes.

The writer is the Assistant Editor for Millennium Post. arif@millenniumpost.in. Views expressed are personal

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