“This is football — no excuses”: Morocco disappointed at falling below expectations

BOSTON: When Morocco left Qatar in 2022, they did so as heroes, having become the first African and Arab side to reach a World Cup semifinal. Four years later in the US, this time in the quarterfinals, they have lost to France 2-0 once again.

Same opponent, same result. Yet it is testament to Morocco’s journey that this felt less like glorious overachievement and more like a painful reminder of how much expectations have risen.

Moroccan coach Mohamed Ouahbi had led his country’s under-20s to World Cup glory in Chile last year, overcoming France en route. Yet despite coming into Thursday’s match unbeaten in his 10 games at the helm of the senior team — and speaking openly about leaving North America as champions — his players never looked like hurting a France side every bit as formidable as their favorites tag suggests.

Professional football has only existed in Morocco since 1996, more than two decades after the country became just the second Arab nation to appear at a World Cup.

Now, 30 years later, they have reached successive quarterfinals. That is cause for celebration, certainly, but watching the players traipse through their media commitments post-match made it clear that they expected more. There were no tears, but the disappointment was obvious.

“This is football — no excuses,” said Morocco’s backup goalkeeper Munir El-Kajoui. “In the end, we are among the eight best teams in the world, so we have to give thanks and be happy for that.

“But also we must be angry because we have the mentality to achieve great things with this national team. We must keep working to learn from this situation and get better, inshallah.”

Boston is home to one of the largest Moroccan communities in the US and the city was awash