Casablanca (Morocco) (AFP) – “Qualified! Qualified!”. The incredible dream continues and Morocco is on fire following the qualification of the Atlas Lions in the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar, a sensational feat never before achieved by an African or Arab team.
“My heart will stop, what a team, what endurance, what an achievement!” Reacted hotly for AFP Ilham El Idrissi, a 34-year-old Casablancan, overjoyed.
“I think I’m daydreaming. Pinch me! What immense pride, the Lions were there, I thank them from the bottom of my heart”, abounds Mouad Khairat, 29, executive in a center of ‘call. “The Moroccan team has managed to do the impossible. We want the cup now.”
Morocco will play its place in the final on Wednesday once morest France, the former colonial power with which relations are not in good shape at the moment, visas and Western Sahara oblige.
“I would have been told one day that MOROCCO would play a qualification in the World Cup final once morest France, I would never have believed it. It’s surreal, it’s the greatest match in history for all Moroccans “, estimated a user, Sofiane, on Twitter.
Once once more, it is becoming a habit, human tides have taken to the streets at the final whistle, from north to south of the kingdom, even in the most remote regions.
“There is nothing impossible in football, it’s the magic of this sport,” ex-Moroccan international Abderrazak Khairi, the main architect of his country’s surprise victory once morest the club, predicted to AFP. same Portuguese opponent (3-1) at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
Now France
Never before has an African or Arab country managed to get past the quarter-finals.
Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010 had failed at the gates of the final four of the most prestigious tournaments.
“For the second time in four days, Morocco is writing the best page in its history. And this time it’s also the biggest on the African continent. It’s no longer a tournament… it’s an epic”, commented “Wiloo” on Twitter.
The adventure continues for the Atlas Lions but also for all Moroccans.
“Football seems to have transcended the boundaries of sport to tread the perimeter of the immanent,” said the editorialist of the weekly TelQuel this week.
It is true that the epic of Walid Regragui’s team now involves a whole people, fanatics of the “beautiful game”.
In the evening, Casablanca, the temple of Moroccan football, was all lit up in red, the color of the national jersey and the flag with the green star, present everywhere on monuments, in shop windows, stalls, markets, in smoke cracks.
The popular enthusiasm is such that the first giant frescoes have already been painted with the effigy of Hakim Ziyech and coach Walid Regragui, raised to the rank of national hero, who only took the reins of this team for less than three months. before the start of the competition, following the ousting of Vahid Halilhodzic.
African and Arab pride
Beyond the borders of the kingdom, the Moroccan team inspires the African continent and the Arab world.
From Gaza to Tunis via Algiers or Dakar, Morocco’s successive victories have united supporters who push with one voice behind the Lions.
“It’s the World of regained pride. That of the voiceless who cry out their joy, purge their frustration in front of a regained visibility, a rehabilitated self-love”, continues TelQuel.
After Morocco’s surprise triumph over Spain, Al Jazeera spoke of “the wave of euphoria” that carried the Arab world.
In East Jerusalem, Ramallah and Gaza, the Palestinians loudly celebrated on Saturday the Moroccan historic qualification, with fireworks, shouts of joy and horns.
The Palestinian cause was invited to the streets of Morocco, supporters displaying the flag of Palestine next to theirs.
In Algeria, despite the strong tensions that oppose it to the neighboring kingdom, and the official silence, the specialized site DZfoot, which has more than a million subscribers on Twitter, applauded the Atlas Lions “Heroic, sensational . Mabrouk Mabrouk”.
“It warms the heart to see the Moroccan flag carried by so many people of different nationalities,” tweeted a user.
© 2022 AFP
