“If you won't help us, Victor Laszlo will die in Casablanca,” a disconsolate Ingrid Bergman pleaded. Calm and astute as always, Humphrey Bogart casually replied “What of it? I'm gonna die in Casablanca. It's a good spot for it.”
Perhaps, the Moroccan football players harbour a conceited intention of recreating the lines from 1942 American classic ‘Casablanca’, except with slightly different wording. Not 'in', but they are going to die 'for' Casablanca, and Morocco – of course not in the literal sense, but given how they have performed so far at the FIFA World Cup 2022, it will not be a sensationalised exaggeration to claim that they will not pack their bags without utilising every bit of their might and strength for the nation’s cause.
Back in 1986, Morocco made history by becoming the first African nation to top the group standings in the FIFA World Cup.
36 years later, the Atlas Lions did not only recreate the achievement, but added a new feather in their cap by becoming the first African nation to qualify for the semi-finals – beating European heavyweights Spain and Portugal in the process.
This is the story of how Morocco made history.
The Prelude
While 1986 was a dream, it was restricted to precisely that – without any connotations of sustained development. Over the next three decades, the nation made only two appearances in the World Cup, but 2018 allowed them to rediscover the audacity to dream again.
Merely going by statistics, it might seem that the campaign in Russia was a disastrous display. With two losses and a draw, Morocco finished last in their group. What the points table will not show, is how the nation fought bravely against heavyweights Portugal and Spain, which had sown the seeds of a grand comeback.
African qualifiers are tricky – places to be awarded are fewer, and hence, teams go through a two-fold qualification process. Firstly, a team will have to top their group of four, and then beat another fellow group topper in a knockout fixture.
Morocco not only achieved that, but they did so with pizzazz. The Atlas Lions won all of their group-stage matches – scoring 20 goals in their journey and conceding only once. Then in the two-legged knockout, they defeated DR Congo 5-2 – the biggest margin of victory in that round.
The Story So Far in Qatar
Among the three teams still alive in this competition, Morocco are the only team to have not lost a match yet.
The group stage started with a gritty goalless draw against 2018’s runners-up, Croatia. Despite not dominating possession, one could consider the African side a tad unlucky, as they had more attempts than the European outfit.
But while that performance set the tone, magic happened a few days later against Belgium. Many might shrink to a defensive shell when facing the second-ranked team, but Morocco did the opposite by scoring twice and not conceding any.
Yet, despite playing their hearts out against two formidable sides, the exceptional competitiveness of the World Cup meant that Morocco needed to turn up in their last match as well – against Canada. They did so, winning the match 2-1 to top their group.
Spain, the winners of the 2010 edition, where Morocco did not even qualify, awaited in the round of 16.
Being the better team on paper, the Spaniards did dominate possession, but despite being attacked for more than two hours, the Moroccans did not lose composure for once. In penalties, they won 3-0.
Up against a formidable Portugal side in the quarter-finals, Morocco took the lead via Youssef En-Nesyri in the 42nd minute, and then defended gallantly for the entirety of the second half.
Now, the Atlas Lions will face the nation they were once a part of - France.
The Coach
Between Russia in 2018 to Qatar in 2022, Morocco displayed a few common underlying themes – resilience which knew no impediments and ambitions which knew no boundaries. What has been different, however, is their coach.
It will only be righteous to give credit for some of Morocco’s current success to Vahid Halilhodzic – the Bosnian manager who guided the team to the World Cup qualification. But owing to differences in opinions with the football governing body, Halilhodzic was sacked in August 2021.
Then came Walid Regragui. Having represented his nation as a player for nine years, Regragui started coaching when he was only in his mid-thirties – as an assistant of Rachid Taoussi in the Moroccon team.
But Taoussi was sacked a year later, and instead of continuing as an apprentice, Regragui opted to don the master’s hat. It worked out well for him, perhaps better than planned, as he won league titles with all of the three teams he managed – FUS Rabat, Al-Duhail and Wydad AC.
The last stint was the most special of the lot, as barring the league title, Regragui also won the continental crown, becoming only the second Moroccan to do so. His staggering rise coincided with rising tension between Halilzodzic and the Moroccan football association, resulting in a swift appointment.
The Key Players
Yassine Bounou: By not conceding a single goal in the penalty shootout against Spain, Yassine Bounou is one of the major architects of his nation’s dream-to-reality project. Yet, as destiny wrote it, it was Spain where he first started dreaming.
Even before making his debut for Morocco, Bounou was playing for Atletico Madrid B in the Spanish second division, hoping to feature in the La Liga soon. Since then, he has not left Spain and after representing Real Zarazoga and Girona, he is now a pillar of the Sevilla side.
Achraf Hakimi: If Spain could sue the football gods, they probably would. Besides Bounou, Achraf Hakimi is another major reason behind Morocco’s victory who spent his formative years in Spain.
Born in Madrid, Hakimi always had the best of facilities available to him as he joined the prestigious Real Madrid academy at 8.
But amid all the luxuries he had, what inspired him was the hardship he saw back home – his father worked as a street vendor to make ends meet, but that was inadequate and his mother had to work as a maid.
Having experienced the stark hypocrisy of society at a tender age, he now uses his platform to raise his voice about societal issues.
Sofyan Amrabat: Morocco’s midfield general, Sofyan Amrabat always knew his goal was to become a footballer, but his academics was not particularly appreciative of it. Born in Netherlands’ Utrecht, he would leave for school at 8 in the morning, and often not return by 8 at the night. But that could not hamper his practice schedule. As his bus would cross the stadium every day, he would remind himself what he is fighting for.
Amrabat dominated the midfield against Portugal, and will be looking to reciprocate the same against France.
Hakim Ziyech: Like Amrabat, Hakim Ziyech was also born in the Netherlands. His exemplary talent was known to all, and the Dutch were desperate to not let him play for anyone else. As a result, Ziyech played for Oranje in U-19, U-20 and U-21 levels, but the calling of the motherland is one most cannot avoid.
Ziyech was not an exception either, as he switched his nationality in 2015. After falling out with the previous manager, he even announced his retirement earlier this year, only to rescind it after the change in the coaching staff.
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