Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper published on the Internet
By Eberechukwu Godgive Orji
On Saturday December 10, following its defeat of Spain on penalties in the last 16, Morocco will face Portugal in one of the quarter-finals at the World Cup 2022, in Qatar.
Morocco has made it to the FIFA World Cup on six separate occasions, in 1970, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2018, and 2022. Their best showing, thus far, has been at the 2022 World Cup.
Regarded as one of the strongest teams from the African continent, Morocco showed resilience when it upset Canada with a spectacular 2-1 win, becoming the first African nation to top a World Cup group, since Nigeria’s feat in France 1998.
In their most recent match, Morocco and Spain played 120 minutes of football without scoring. However, Morocco sent Spain out on penalties after goalkeeper Bono saved two and Abdelhamid Sabiri, Abdelhamid Hakim Ziyech, and Achraf Hakimi scored three penalty kicks that ultimately sent Morocco into the last eight of a World Cup for the first time. Little wonder their moniker “The Atlas Lions” makes sense.
Remember that Africa’s quintet of Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria, and Egypt lost out in the group stage of the World Cup tournament, four years ago. Only the “Teranga Lions” of Senegal made it close to the round of 16 after accumulating four points in the game. However, they lost the spot to Japan due to disciplinary records after piling up more yellow cards than the “Blue Samurai.”
Africa has no record of winning the World Cup, so far. It will be Africa’s joy to watch and hope Morocco wins December 10 encounter. It will be a major step in the quest for the FIFA World Cup —habitually cheered as “The Greatest Soccer Show on Earth!”
Generally, Nigerians and other African countries that are not participating are giving support to their Moroccan counterparts who are still competing for the trophy.
