They surpassed the feat of Mexico 86: Morocco gets into the history of the African teams in the World Cups

They drew with Croatia and beat Belgium and Canada, now they beat Spain on penalties and historically qualify for the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Qatar for the first time in all their world participations. Morocco strikes and is the surprise of the World Cup. The Moroccans sign a legendary and well-deserved pass after an excellent performance.

The development of the match against Spain occurred just as Morocco wanted. He pressed, cut off passes and forced the Spaniards to have the ball but without creating danger. Instead, the team Walid Regragui He bet on the strength and ability of his players to scare the rival area and put an unknown Spain in trouble.

Despite the fact that La Roja had possession of the ball, this was inconsequential for the development of the match where Morocco did not feel uncomfortable. Quite the contrary, they stuck to their game, waiting for the opportunity to unbalance and even had clearer chances to score a goal or more against the Spaniards with well-crafted counterattacks.

Boufal It was undoubtedly the best of the first half. Beside Achraf Hakimi (PSG), Sofyan Amrabat (Fiorentina) and Haim Ziyech (Chelsea), footballers who play for the best teams in Europe, stole the show in a match that will remain in the memory of football fans. Bono was visited as a hero and saved three penalties that were crucial to give his team the victory.

The improvement of this team is no coincidence. After the failure of Russia 2018, the Moroccan team underwent a restructuring both in terms of players and technical level. Now many of them work in large teams. And the Spanish League is one of the favorites. Suffice it to say that their goalkeeper, Bono, is the star of Sevilla, just like Youssef En-Nesyri. Secondly, Jawad El Jamik He plays for Valladolid and Ez Abde was trained in the Barcelona youth academy and is now on loan to Osasuna.

A highly consolidated and committed team arrived in Qatar. And with team play they demonstrated it and they far surpassed Spain and got their reward: qualifying for the quarterfinals. This was the second time that both teams met in a World Cup. They had already done it four years ago in Russia in a 2-2 draw. Where the Moroccans said goodbye in the group stage and Spain in the round of 16 also eliminated on penalties.

Morocco is the ordeal of this renewed Spain led by Luis Enrique, who has not been able to get past the round of 16 since he emerged champion in 2010. The Moroccans surpass their best participation in the World Cups where going to the round of 16 in Mexico 1986 and Qatar 2022 had already been a great feat. Arriving at this new instance, Morocco sets a precedent for the presence of African teams in the quarterfinals of a Cup. The distances between football are getting smaller and this team shows it. Now they are waiting to meet their rival for the winner between Portugal and Switzerland.