Morocco Welcomes History-Making World Cup Team Home
Tens of thousands of ecstatic Moroccans welcomed their national football team home on Tuesday after the players exceeded the North African country’s wildest aspirations and placed fourth at the World Cup in Qatar.
As an open-top bus carrying the players moved into the capital with a strong police escort, fans crowded squares and lined up along avenues and streets in Rabat and the surrounding area, igniting flares, waving flags, dancing to the rhythm of drums, and cheering.
Players and coach Walid Regragui waved, kissed, and took photographs with their enthusiastic supporters while grinning.
The bus was traveling to the royal palace where King Mohammed VI was waiting to greet the players to “celebrate their great and historic accomplishment”, and the when at several spots along the procession route, crowds overflowed from sidewalks onto a four-lane highway carrying the bus, slowing down the vehicle.
The Moroccan team, known as the Atlas Lions, made history as the first African or Arab team to reach the World Cup semifinals and was one of the major success stories of the competition, the first Arab nation to host the event.
The group defeated Portugal, Spain, and Belgium before falling to France in the semifinals. Due to its record-breaking performance, the players were greeted as heroes.
Morocco’s run in the 2022 Fifa World Cup will be remembered in the history books as one of the most exciting campaigns since the tournament’s inception,” café owner Reda Ghazi, 27, told The Associated Press. “It was the dream of every Moroccan to win something, especially because Morocco is a country where the passion for football is overwhelming.”
Morocco finished fourth in the competition after losing to Croatia 1-2 in the third-place play-off on Saturday, exceeding the expectations of most Moroccans.
“I still can’t wrap my head around what happened in this World Cup,” added student Anour El Berkaoui, 23. “The team has now set the bar so high that we won’t be happy with anything less than winning the upcoming African Cup of Nations.”
The Moroccan team charmed many Arab football fans who saw in the team a reflection of themselves. Players waved the Palestinian flag after their wins and celebrated on the field with their mothers and children.
