The stage is ready for the World Cup final as defending Champions, France will face Lionel Messi inspired Argentina. However in the semifinals, one cannot deny how good Morocco were in the entire tournament . The Atlas Lions fought very hard against Les Blues in the semifinals but they fell short.
Impressed by their performance and valiant effort, French president Emmanuel Macron entered the Moroccan dressing room and called Sofyan Amrabat as the ‘best midfielder of the tournament” for his exceptional exploits at the heart of the midfield. The Fiorentina man was praised by Macron in front of the entire squad as he was mightily impressed by his performances and fight that Amrabat has shown on field.
France won the match 2-0 as Theo Hernandez took advantage of a defensive lapse whereas substitute Kolo Muani was at the right place to steer the ball home. The Atlas Lions tried their best but the duo of Raphael Varane and Ibrahim Konate made sure that Didier Deschamps’ men kept a clean sheet.
Morocco deserved all the applause that they are getting for their tremendous performance in this World Cup. Walid Regragui’s side had many protagonists as they played as a strong unit and not as individuals. But still the man who held his own and was rock solid at the heart of the midfield – Sofyan Amrabat. The Fiorentina man has had a tremendous World Cup campaign and looking at his performances many teams are looking to eye him in January.
Amrabat has been as important as Achraf Hakimi or Hakim Ziyech. He was one of the pivotal reasons for their success in this tournament. Hence Macron who is an ardent football lover praised him in front of his teammates. He labelled him as the best midfielder of this tournament for his consistency and grit throughout the event.
Coming to their coach Walid Regragui who was heartbroken after the defeat against France later realized that it was a step too far for the Atlas Lions especially with their injury concerns all over the field. He shared if his players were fully fit then it would have been a contest for France but unfortunately that was not the case for Morocco.
“At a World Cup this was perhaps one step too far. Not in terms of quality or tactics, but physically we came up short tonight. We had too many players at 60% or 70%. With all our squad fit we could have caused them a lot of problems,” Regragui told The Guardian.
He shared how the players believed in themselves and their people and were playing for the Moroccan people in an attempt to keep their dreams alive. “We are disappointed for the Moroccan people tonight. We wanted to keep the dream alive. We knew we had achieved something great already and that everyone was proud of us. We are pleased with what we have done but felt we could have gone even further.” he added.
Morocco still has another shot at the Qatar World Cup as they will face Croatia in the third place playoff with the winner picking the bronze medal. The Atlas Lions will be on the prowl as they will face Luka Modric and company on December 17.
