The end of their Qatar 2022 journey is not the end of the road for this Morocco side.A young squad, excellent facilities and newly-acquired international experience puts them in a good position for 2026.The Atlas Lions’ fearless approach saw them defeat three European heavyweights in Qatar.
“Why shouldn’t we dream of winning the World Cup? Let’s pass that idea on to future generations, and let’s believe in it.”
Those were Morocco coach Walid Regragui’s words after his side qualified for the Round of 16 at Qatar 2022. His statement was ridiculed by some; most others thought it was a hopeless dream.
That viewpoint soon changed when the Atlas Lions progressed to the quarter-finals, and even more so when they reached the last four of the competition. By then, observers were taking what he said seriously, especially given his side’s well-organised and tactically perfect wins over Belgium, Spain and Portugal.
Morocco coach Walid Regragui, after the match against France he said, “We were disappointed for Moroccan people tonight, we wanted to keep their dream alive. Of course, we’re pleased with what we achieved but we felt we could have gone even further.
“But small details help real champions win and we saw them tonight. They have a lot of subs who can come in and make the difference but I said to the players I was proud of them and his Majesty is proud and the Moroccan people are proud. We have given a good image of Morocco and a good image of African football.”
𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 🫶🏻 pic.twitter.com/Sld1Xv5921
— Équipe du Maroc (@EnMaroc) December 15, 2022
One thing was for sure: if Morocco did come up short at Qatar 2022, they would have laid foundations to be serious contenders by 2026.
Bengali