Moroccans celebrate historic achievement at the World Cup and spark riots in the Netherlands

Morocco’s football temple, Casablanca, and its placid capital, Rabat, erupted in jubilation this Tuesday (6) after their team’s historic qualification for the quarter-finals of the World Cup at the expense of Spain (0-0 in normal time and 3-0 on penalties).

At the end of an unbearable suspense, chants, screams, tears, flares and the strident sound of horns celebrated the classification of the Lions of the Atlas, the first Arab team to reach this stage of the competition.

“We were millions supporting Morocco. This team represents a spirit, a union,” said Imad Aït Ounejjar, manager of a busy restaurant in Casablanca, beaming.

“This victory belongs to Morocco, Africa, the Arab world and all the nations that believed in us. We are proud to be Moroccans,” he stated.

In fact, Morocco is the last African or Arab team left in Qatar.

African or Arab team only

“I can’t believe it! This team is working miracles! It’s so beautiful!” said 24-year-old Lamia Afria. “I’m proud, we’ve done the unthinkable!”

“Magic”. For all of them, it’s a dream come true after so many years of waiting and frustration.

Morocco had never gone this far in a World Cup. Before the win against Spain, their best result in football’s biggest competition was in 1986, when they reached the round of 16.

At this Casablanca restaurant, the atmosphere felt unreal. Fans —men and women— wrapped in red flags and wearing the star’s green jersey cheered for the Lions until the end.

After the victory, everyone shouted in unison: “Let the next one come!” and “Dima Maghrib!” (“Always with Morocco”).

In Paris, several hundred Moroccan fans packed the Champs-Élysées to celebrate their historic quarter-final qualification, an AFP reporter has learned.

Fans, dressed in red and green, gathered near the Arc de Triomf amidst flares and under the watchful eye of several police officers.

The Moroccan triumph was also celebrated in the Netherlands, where the police had to evacuate two squares, in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, after launching fireworks.

Furthermore, in The Hague, police arrested three people after asking fans to vacate a street in a popular neighbourhood.

‘Brothers and neighbors’

This epic duel took on a classic feel: separated by the Strait of Gibraltar, the Spanish coast is just 14 km from Tangier.

Beyond the purely sporting aspect, Rabat and Madrid share common interests, both economic and in the fight against illegal immigration.

After almost a year of diplomatic conflict over the territory of Western Sahara, the two neighbors normalized their relations in mid-March.

Today they seem to be in good harmony.

Several Moroccan players play in La Liga, including striker Youssef En-Nesyri and goalkeeper Yassine Bono (Sevilla), winger Ez Abde (Osasuna) and defender Jawad El Yamiq (Real Valladolid).

National team star Achraf Hakimi, who scored the decisive penalty to seal his team’s place in ‘Panenka’ style, was born in Madrid and trained at Real Madrid.

But the Lions of the Atlas also conquered hearts beyond Morocco’s borders.

Scenes of jubilation erupted in Syria, Saudi Arabia and as far away as Gaza after Morocco’s group stage matches.

Palestinian fans even improvised a song in honor of the Moroccan team.

For their part, the Moroccan heroes posed for photos after the match with the Palestinian flag.

Even in the context of the acute crisis between Morocco and Algeria, football managed to unite the two “brother peoples”.

“Away from all the hateful and malicious trolls on social media, the Algerian people are on the side of the Moroccan people (…) Your brothers and neighbors are with you,” wrote the DZfoot page on Tuesday, which has more than one million followers on Twitter.

Several Algerian players also celebrated the Moroccan achievement on social media.