Morocco became the great revelation of the World Cup in Qatar.
The Moroccan team became the first African and Arab team to reach the semifinals of a World Cup this Saturday (10th), by beating Portugal 1-0 after having already beaten Spain.
But before the start of the World Cup, the “Lions of the Atlas”, as the Moroccan team is known, were not among the favourites.
It is worth remembering that, even before the surprising victories over Spain and Portugal, Morocco had already qualified as leader of Group F, ahead of Croatia (world runner-up), Belgium (number 2 in the FIFA ranking) and Canada (leader of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers).
Check out three curiosities about the Moroccan national team.
1. First African and Arab country in a semi-final
Although football generates great passions in around 20 countries in the Middle East and Africa, only three African teams have reached the quarter-finals of a World Cup, and none have managed to go beyond that stage.
Yet.
With the victory over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal by a goal with a stunning leap by Youssef En-Nesyri, the Moroccans secured their place among the four best teams in the world.
The only teams outside of Europe and South America to reach the semifinals of the World Cup were the United States in 1930 and South Korea in 2002.
The level of the Moroccans at the World Cup in Qatar has been remarkable: they started with a draw (0-0) against Croatia, beat Belgium 2-0 and achieved another victory over Canada 2-1 in the group stage.
In the round of 16, they drew 0-0 with Spain in normal time and won 3-0 in the penalty shootout.
And against Portugal they managed to disarm the opponent’s offensive strategy and won with a goal by Youssef En-Nesyri.
2. Most players were born outside Morocco
The migration of Moroccans, mainly to European countries, is reflected in their selection.
Of the team of 26 players, 14 were born outside Moroccan soil: Bounou, El Kajoui, Hakimi, Mazraoul, Saiss, Amrabat, Ziyech, Zorouy, Chair, Aboukhlal, Amallah, Boufai, El Khannous and Chedira.
Four of them were born in the Netherlands, four in Belgium, two in France, two in Spain, one in Italy and one in Canada.
The scorer of the goal that took the game against Spain to penalties, Achraf Hakimi, for example, was born in Madrid and could even have played for La Roja.
“I even tried with the Spanish national team, but I saw that it wasn’t my place, I didn’t feel at home. It wasn’t for anything in particular, but for what I felt, because it wasn’t what I had absorbed and lived at home, which is culture Arab, being Moroccan. I wanted to be in the Moroccan national team,” he told Spanish sports newspaper Marca ahead of the World Cup.
The 24-year-old defender joined Real Madrid’s youth system, with whom he debuted in the first division in 2017, the year in which he won the Spanish Super Cup.
3. Conceded only one goal in the entire World Cup
Another fact to highlight about the revelation team is that he conceded only one goal so far in the tournament.
Until this Saturday, Morocco is the team with the fewest goals conceded in this World Cup. Croatia is in second place, with only two goals conceded.
And this is largely due to Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
“Bono”, as he is known, was born in Canada, but his current team is Sevilla of the Spanish League.
Despite conceding just one goal in the entire World Cup, Bounou was also a key player in the match against Spain, saving two penalties in that landmark victory.
This text was originally published here.
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