Heroic Morocco fall just short of World Cup final glory

Morocco’s dream of reaching the World Cup final finally came to an end on Wednesday with a 2-0 loss to France. But the magic of the team’s fantastic journey and their achievement in reaching the last four in Qatar will never be forgotten.

Whether for the tens of thousands who saw the game in person at Al-Bayt Stadium, the millions watching all around the Arab world or the billions tuning in on every continent, Morocco’s journey has surely been the story of the 2022 tournament.

They probably deserved more from this game than what they got and certainly deserved the outpouring of pride and appreciation from their fans at the final whistle

Their story is not necessarily over, as the success in Qatar could be just the start of a glorious new chapter for the Atlas Lions and lay the foundations for more to come.

But even if it does not spark further successes, what happened during the past three weeks, those amazing victories over Belgium, Canada, Spain and Portugal, will never be forgotten.

In the end, France, the defending champions, were just that little bit too clinical for Morocco and this sixth game for an injury-hit squad was just a little bit too much for them.

There’s still a play-off for third place against Croatia on Saturday to look forward to, which will be a fitting end to their competition as the two teams began their campaigns with a goalless draw in their opening clash. It will be one last chance for those magnificent fans, who really deserved a goal to cheer on Wednesday, to showcase their red shirts, voices and passion for a watching world.

Those fans ensured Morocco won the battle of the national anthems, as you might expect given that they outnumbered the French fans by at least 10 to one. It was a