It was good while it lasted. And it lasted very long — longer than any African campaign at the Fifa World Cup ever. It lasted long enough for Morocco to still be standing on the penultimate day of the global spectacle.
Sure, even good things do come to an end as did the Atlas Lions’ memorable and historic campaign that saw them become the first African country and Arab nation to reach the semifinal.
They may have bowed out of the tournament on Wednesday night courtesy of a 2-0 defeat by France, but there can be no shame in having your campaign ended by the defending champions, can there?
And as campaigns go, the Atlas Lions’ one at Qatar 2022 will remain forever etched in African and Arab memory, their run being the best by an African team since the tournament was first played in 1930.
The ultimate goal may have proven a bridge too far, but the fact that Morocco can still leave Qatar with a medal from their third-place play-off against 2018 finalists Croatia whom they play on Saturday speaks volumes.
After all, prior to the start of the tournament, no one — perhaps not even the Moroccans themselves — would have bet on the Atlas Lions doing as well as they did.
But such was their gutsy display throughout the tournament that they can definitely leave Qatar with their heads held high.
Against France on Wednesday night, Morocco started on the backfoot having lost their influential central defender Nayef Aguerd during the warm-up while his partner and captain Romain Siass had to be replaced in the first half due to injury.
Such setbacks would have seen many teams crumble, particularly against such revered opposition. This Morocco side though is made of sterner stuff and Walid Regragui’s men made a good contest of the clash by bravely trying to take the match to the French.
Unlike in most of their earlier ties in which they were content to sit back and catch the opposition on the break, they played more openly and attacked with vigour.
However, the ploy left them open to punishment and with the likes of Kylian Mbappe in the adversaries’ side they were always going to pay dearly.
While they went down 1-0 to Theo Hernandez’ strike in the first half, they did not hang their heads and accept defeat but rather fought tooth and nail to try and restore parity.
They could have scored via Ali Younis’ acrobatic overhead kick from inside the box but he succeeded in rattling the root of the upright They even forced a fantastic safe out of Hugo Lloris with a long range effort by the impressive Azzedine Ounani.
Perhaps some will argue that Morocco would have done well to stick to the game-plan that had helped them get the better of the likes of Belgium, Spain and Portugal. In those matches they were a bit more conservative and relied on their wing attacks and crosses delivered high into the box.
In their march to the semifinal, the Atlas Lions often played second fiddle to the opposition in the possessions stakes.
Not so against Les Bleus on Wednesday night as Morocco often shaded the ball possession stats in the first half. More disappointing was the fact that their dangerman Al Nasari hardly saw the action as there were no deliveries into the box for him to head goal-wards.
It was not surprising that he was ejected from the field for being 'ineffective', albeit not of his own doing.
What was ineffective against France was their tight marking which saw them get to the semifinal having shut out all their opposition. The only goal they’d conceded prior to their clash with France was an own goal scored by Aguerd against Canada.
But when they went 2-0 down via strike by substitute Rendall Kolo Muani, Morocco had been guilty of ball-watching. In the build-up to the goal, none of their defenders committed to a tackle and they thus allowed the ball to find its way to Mbappe who bulldozed his way through the defensive block before releasing the substitute.
Granted the young French superstar should be credited for being brave and nimble-footed. But when they look at the recording of the match, the Moroccan defence will kick themselves for having been so tame in their marking.
A reflection of their entire World Cup campaign, however, will be a different story for Morocco will definitely look back at Qatar 2022 with great pride at having reached the semifinal.
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