The recent World Cup has given us teams that no one expected much from to perform brilliantly. However, the stand-out team this entire World Cup has definitely been Morocco, with their brilliant performances providing shocks at every turn.
Mumbai: The recent World Cup has given us teams that no one expected much from to perform brilliantly. However, the stand-out team this entire World Cup has definitely been Morocco, with their brilliant performances providing shocks at every turn. Considering the conditions that they faced, such as sacking veteran coach Vahid Halilhodžić three months before the tournament began, likely since he was involved in numerous disagreements with players, such as key player Hakim Ziyech, and FC Bayern defender Noussair Mazraoui. This gave Halilhodžić a third team to add to his list of teams he qualified for the World Cup with, but didn’t manage at the World Cup, the other two being Ivory Coast (led Ivory Coast to qualification in 2010 but fired 3 months before World Cup 2010 began) and Japan (led Japan to qualification in 2018 but fired 3 months before World Cup 2018 began).
The Moroccan FA were eager to appoint a Moroccan manager to manage the national team, and named successful Wydad AC manager, Walid Regragui, as the new Morocco manager. At club level, he had led Wydad AC to its third African Champions League title in 2021, by beating the defending champions, Egyptian club Al Ahly, in the final. However, this Morocco job consisted of probably his biggest tasks yet. He was responsible to bring the divided dressing room back together, attempt to recall the previously banished Ziyech and Mazraoui (the earlier having named his retirement from international duty only a short while ago due to being cut from the Morocco squad by Halilhodžić), and, despite having almost no time to prepare, implant his ideas into his players.
Regragui prided himself on tactical fluidity and a strong defence. He normally started in a fluid 4-3-3, but regularly pushed someone into defence to change to a 5-back, usually tough-tackling box-to-box midfielder Sofyn Amrabat, who is definitely a candidate for midfielder of the tournament. This was extremely effective, with Morocco conceding only five goals the entire tournament, with one being an own goal from defender Nayef Aguerd against Canada in the group stage, two against France in the semi-final, and two against Croatia in the third-place playoff.
Their defensive success wasn’t easy though, considering centre backs were a suffering breed for Morocco, with all of their centre backs, Romain Saiss, Nayef Aguerd, Jawad El Yamiq, Badr Benoun, and Achraf Dari all picking up injuries of varying seriousness throughout the tournament. However, with sheer willpower, a lot of bandaging, and Sofyn Amrabat regularly (and effectively) dropping into defence, the Atlas Lions managed to push through the tournament.
Morocco was strong in defence, but irregular in attack, which ended up being their downfall. They pinned their hope on target man Youssef En-Nesyri, who did deliver, as seen versus Portugal, but versus France and Croatia, the midfielders behind him rarely gave him the service he craved, aerial duels and crosses for him to head in.
For Morocco, the squad has become well known and national heroes, but a few stand-out players have emerged who the world now knows. Most notably the aforementioned Sofyn Amrabat, star goalkeeper Yasinne Bounou, and midfielder Azzedine Ounahi. On the topic of Ounahi, who currently plays for Angers in France, it is claimed numerous bids for him have already come in, a rumour confirmed by his club president, but the president went on to say that they wanted to come to an agreement with any potential buying club to allow Ounahi to play for Angers till the end of the season. Additionally, with Amrabat, who currently plays for Fiorentina in Italy, being linked to Liverpool, it could be likely that he also gets a big move. Bounou, though, seems settled at Sevilla, and not shown any inkling to leave the club any time soon, and nor will Sevilla be willing to let go of him easily. Although, with the recent injury to Manuel Neuer and Bayern Munich looking for a new goalkeeper to step in, he could be a candidate for them.
While it is unfortunate Morocco have no medals to show for their efforts, it is certain they will live long in the memory of all the watchers of the World Cup, and have their place in the record books as the furthest an Arab (and African) nation has gone in the World Cup.