One of the biggest Stories of this FIFA World Cup is the fact that no one before the tournament gave Morocco any chance of making it into the knockouts because everyone thought that they were in such a tough group that they would have to go home. However the Morocco team had other ideas as they wanted to create history and silence all their doubters and I was one of them.
Morocco do not have the most well known players in their team nor do they have a coach who is well known around the world nor do their players play in the top leagues in the world. More than half of their team were not born in Morocco but the unity that they have shown has been greater than so many other teams. I have become a fan for life and hence this is a tribute to my team in the tournament. Let’s look at how this Morocco team achieved the impossible of becoming the first African nation to reach the semi final of the World Cup.
The best defense of the tournament
This Moroccan team has the best defense of the World Cup and that is not even up for debate. They have not conceded a goal in this entire tournament to a player from the opposition and the only goal they gave away was an own goal. They have not been scored against for almost 15 hours of football and they have played the best teams in the world and not one of them has had an answer for their defensive skills. Having a defense as good as this makes half the job easier as the strikers have to score a goal.
Team Unity like no other
One more important reason for Morocco to do so well in this FIFA World Cup is the fact that the team unity that they have is unlike any other. First we have to consider the fact that Morocco has only 3 players in their team who are born in Morocco and the others have come from other nations to play for this team. To have this level of unity even after being from so many different nations and playing for the Moroccan people is amazing.
Never say die attitude
This is something that takes any team far in any tournament and if that team is not as fancied as Morocco was in this World Cup then this never say die attitude makes one do things that normally they will not be able to do. Nobody before the World Cup gave this team a chance and not one football fan thought that Morocco would reach the semi final of the World Cup. And this never say die attitude from this Group of players has allowed them to create history and they will always be in the hearts of the African and Arab football fans.
Beating the best teams in the world
Morocco have had the toughest road to the semi finals as they have to face multiple teams that were considered way superior than them but Morocco was not bothered by any of it. First they took fellow World Cup semi finalists Croatia to the limit and had a 0-0 draw then they beat Belgium by 2-0 which was a big upset and then in the Round of 16 they knocked out Spain in the penalty shootout and finally yesterday they beat Portugal by 1-0 to book a place in the World Cup semi final. This is how they achieved the impossible and I hope they can take one more step.
Also Read: Biggest Upsets in FIFA World Cup 2022
