By Samindra Kunti in Al Khor
December 15 – After a history-making run, Moroccan hearts were finally broken. But following their 2-0 semi-final defeat to defending champions France coach Walid Regragui said that with a sense of pride prevailed that his side had shown “a good image”.
There were tears and disappointment at the end of Morocco’s unprecedented and unexpected progression to the semi-final of the World Cup – Regragui showered his players with compliments following a hard-fought defeat to Les Bleus.
“We pulled out the stops and gave everything,” said Regragui. “We did cause them problems and that is quite an achievement. My players gave a very good image of the team, a showcase of their quality. It is difficult to take, they wanted to rewrite history books.
“You can’t win a World Cup by miracles, only by hard work – and that is what we will keep doing.”
Morocco’s hard work got the team to a historic semi-final, becoming the first-ever African country to reach the last-four stage of the World Cup. En route they became giant killers by eliminating European giants Portugal and Morocco, relying on staunch defending, a good organisation and bursts of flair up front.
But the encounter with France and Kylian Mbappe ultimately proved a step too far, even if Morocco dominated possession and much of the match. The French rode their luck at times and picked Morocco off on the counter following Theo Hernandez’s early strike.
On Saturday, Morocco, whose success brought a semblance of African as well as Arabian unity, will face Croatia in the third-place playoff at the Khalifa Stadium.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1731720889labto1731720889ofdlr1731720889owedi1731720889sni@i1731720889tnuk.1731720889ardni1731720889mas1731720889