They could have fallen simply brief of reaching the World Cup final, but Moroccans on Wednesday hailed their crew’s historic run because it ended with a 2-0 defeat to reigning champions France.
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“They played a great game but luck wasn’t on our side,” mentioned supporter Oussama Abdouh in Casablanca.
“Still, we stood as much as the title-holders, that was nice.
“Beyond the World Cup, this team made us dream until the end, and just for that, I raise my hat to them.”
But for Hakim Salama, the 2-0 defeat to France was an excessive amount of.
“We missed the opportunity of the century,” he mentioned.
Rain lashed the capital Rabat on Wednesday night and the environment was removed from the exhilaration of the historic victories that introduced the Lions of the Atlas to close by of a World Cup final – the primary Arab or African crew to ever get to date.
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This time, the automotive horns and drummers have been muted.
“The national team has been performing miracles since the start of the World Cup,” Rachid Sabbiq, a avenue dealer within the working-class Derb Sultan district of Casablanca, mentioned earlier than the match.
“It doesn’t matter whether they win or lose – they’ve won the respect and admiration of all Moroccans, and that’s priceless,” he mentioned.
Sabbiq had swapped his typical fare of sweets to promote Moroccan flags.
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Despite the loss, ruler King Mohammed VI despatched his “warm congratulations” to the entire crew for having “honoured the Moroccan people”, in line with the nation’s nationwide information company MAP.
The king additionally conveyed a congratulatory message to French President Emmanuel Macron by phone post-match, the information company mentioned.
‘They make us dream’
One of the oldest neighbourhoods in Casablanca, Derb Sultan was a bastion of resistance in opposition to colonial authorities when the North African kingdom was a French protectorate from 1912 till 1956.
It additionally gave rise to 1 of Morocco’s high groups, Raja de Casablanca, and is the birthplace of legendary striker Mohamed Jarir (alias “Houmane”), who in 1970 turned the primary Moroccan ever to attain within the World Cup.
“In this neighbourhood, we love football, so of course the national team’s victories make us dream,” mentioned teenager Mohamed Nadifi, a young person whose idol is winger Sofiane Boufal.
All over Morocco, outlets have been promoting crew jerseys and flags.
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“Not only have the Lions made us happy but they also allowed us to get business going again” regardless of tough financial occasions for a lot of Moroccans, mentioned dealer Khalid Alaoui.
Touria Matrougui braved chilly and torrential rain to purchase jerseys for her 4 nephews.
“They held the Moroccan flag high, and for that, we can never thank them enough,” she mentioned.
International assist for Morocco
The crew’s success has additionally received it assist far throughout the continent.
“Morocco has made an entire continent proud,” mentioned Sidibey Zoumana, from the Ivory Coast, who has lived within the nation since 2018.
“I’ve been watching their progress as if it was my own country.”
From Gaza to Senegal, the crew’s success has remodeled the picture of Morocco.
“They proved that an African team can go places, and really compete,” mentioned Said Mouhssine, 48, after the match.
For others, the match had a style of politics, coming within the center of a diplomatic spat between Paris and Rabat over the ever-contentious Western Sahara difficulty.
Some followers have been doubly disenchanted, as nationwide service Royal Air Maroc was compelled to cancel further flights for followers to Qatar simply hours after saying them.
Other supporters who had already reached the Gulf state have been unable to get tickets they’d been promised.
Some accused employees on the Moroccan Football Federation of handing out the coveted passes to pals and households.
By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse