The entire world was on the edge of their seat during what can only be described as one of the most historic World Cup matches, the semi-finals that saw Morocco’s The Atlas Lions go head to head with France’s Les Bleus. On reaching the five-minute mark of the game, France’s Theo Hernández scored a goal followed by a second goal at the 78-minute mark but throughout that time, Morocco’s team kept pushing through. With sheer persistence, they kept pressing toward the goal, multiple times and there was even a moment at the 87-minute mark where Hakimi sprinted with all his will across the pitch, a final bout to get his team a goal. Despite an excellent performance, the game ended with France winning the match with a 2-0 score.
It may have been the end of Morocco’s World Cup journey, yet the team and the entire world were still itching with pride knowing that history was made. Morocco truly tore up the history books by being the first Arab and African nation to make it further than any other African or Arab team has ever managed before in the World Cup.
The pride that everyone felt towards the team truly shone through throughout the match as fans donned large sombrero hats with their faces painted in the signature red and green colors of Morocco and pumped their fists in the air. Others slammed a set of drums in the beat and spirit of true patriotism and pride. Many fans also had that their arms outstretched and began doing a collective slow-motion clap. That love and support throughout the match were even stronger after the game was over.
Post-Game Heartwarming Moments
Following the end of the match, there was a moment when The Atlas Lions prayed in the middle of the pitch and were met with a vigorous cheer from the onlooking fans that regurgitated across the entire stadium.
Beyond the fans, Morocco’s rival team showed support towards The Atlas Lions especially their striker Kylian Mbappé who shared a special moment with Hakimi. Being close friends and Paris Saint-Germain teammates, the two shared a special camaraderie that shone through when they swapped jerseys following the semi-finals.
Mbappé continued his heartwarming support of his teammate by sending a touching message to Hakimi on Twitter.
That same camaraderie was shared between Morocco’s coach Regragui and French striker Giroud when they shared a hug after the game; the two were former teammates when they both played for Grenoble in 2008.
The Global Support
Across social media, the world celebrated the team and re-shared the sentiment that Morocco’s World Cup journey may have ended but that the team did win everyone’s hearts. Global superstar Amr Diab tweeted “You made us proud, you are an honor to all Arabs and Africans, our champions.”
The popular sports US news agency ESPN followed in tow by tweeting a compilation of some of the most touching moments from Morocco’s World Cup journey.
A beautiful message was also tweeted by Italian sports journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Many on Twitter also made sure to caption their posts with a roundup of everything the team accomplished so far, from defeating Belgium, Spain, and Portugal to topping their World Cup group. It’s a shared sentiment that even though Morocco’s run has come to an end, the journey itself was truly unforgettable.
The world will still get to watch The Atlas Lions hitting up the green pitch as the team will be battling it out for the bronze medal against Croatia on Saturday, Dec.17.