Morocco and France play the second finalist place of the World Cup in Qatar in Al Bayt
The sound of the trumpets and the roar of the drums accompanies the repetitive chant of the fans: “Lolololó, diiima Maghreb!”. The streets of Doha are a red tide this Wednesday in anticipation of a historic day, which could lead Morocco to the 2022 World Cup final this Wednesday (8 p.m.). Not even the most optimistic were prepared for such a possibility.
It is a day to dream across the African continent and in the Arab world. Never before has a team received so much support. A total of 450 million people today declare themselves Moroccan because they represent the pride of Africa. They are the men destined to change the mindset of an entire continent. This passionate factor is what the North African team has seized on to add successes during the World Cup. Along the way, he left Belgium, Spain and Portugal, a hat-trick of European powers that he plans to turn into poker by also knocking out France, the current champions.
For ambition and desire it will not be. “We have a mission, we have an opportunity and we don’t want to miss it. We don’t want to wait another forty years. Now is the time,” Walid Regragui, the great architect of the Moroccan outbreak, told the media yesterday. Just four months in office were enough to convince his players that they are capable of winning the World Cup. “I want to win the World Cup. I may be crazy, but it’s good to be. We want to rewrite history, put Africa on top.”
Regragui builds on the responses and supports his arguments with quick arm movements. Hundreds of lines have been written about him in recent days. He has scratched his childhood in Corbeil-Essonnes, a commune southeast of Paris and his past as a courageous and charismatic footballer. But he denies any heroic story: «I was born in France, I grew up in the working-class neighborhoods, but I don’t want to turn it into a story. The young man from the suburbs who came down from below, etc. It’s something I don’t like. I have completed my studies, I work every day and I try to set a good example. There’s no more”.
It also delves into its referents. His passion for Guardiola is well known, but he praises Simeone with the same vehemence. The ideological clash beeps. With Morocco he tends to the second option, because he says he does not have the right men in his selection for the opposite. But the debate over the game that led his team to the semi-finals does not bother him, but rather encourages him to defend himself vigorously. He says possession is overrated and takes comments about his tough defense system as praise, not ridicule. “How you like to talk about possession!” He smiles. “I’m going to tell Infantino to give points to the teams that have the most possession.” Then he argued, shaking his head: «A 70% possession to shoot twice on goal? We’re here to win, not to have the ball.”
Talent spread across Europe
Besides the enormous work of the Moroccan federation to bring together all the talent spread all over Europe and to promote its own talent, more things are needed for the national team to make this stratospheric leap. Regragui sums it up in hunger and faith, the two concepts he has struggled to instill in his players. Among other things, he has made the Moroccan elf recognizable to almost every fan. In addition to Bono, Achraf or Ziyech, people now also know what the Mazraoui, Amrabat, Ounahi, Boufal do and who they are… That is a nice legacy.
More accustomed to this sort of match, France face Al Bayt’s semi-final without being quite as epic, though without an ounce of faith in their rivals. Deschamps is asked about more everyday matters. What can happen in Paris on the streets of the country’s main cities is almost as worrying as the outcome of the competition once the name of the finalist is known, the only thing that can cloud the moment. “It’s just a football game,” both coaches repeated to play down the matter.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
