Morocco's 2022 World Cup: the first African semi-finalists
Morocco’s run to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup was the story of the tournament for neutral fans. They became the first African nation — and the first Arab nation — to reach the last four in the competition’s 92-year history.
The defensive wall
Coach Walid Regragui built a compact, disciplined side. Across their first six matches Morocco conceded only one goal — an own goal against Canada — before conceding to France in the semi-final. Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou and centre-backs Romain Saïss and Nayef Aguerd were outstanding.
Route to the semi-final
- Group F: beat Belgium 2-0, drew Croatia 0-0, beat Canada 2-1
- Round of 16: beat Spain on penalties (0-0, 3-0 pens)
- Quarter-final: beat Portugal 1-0 (Youssef En-Nesyri header)
- Semi-final: lost 2-0 to France (Theo Hernández, Kylian Mbappé)
A nation, and a continent, united
The Atlas Lions’ matches drew huge support from across Africa and the Arab world. Their penalty shootout win over Spain, in particular, became a landmark moment for African football.
Morocco finished fourth, their best-ever World Cup placing, and set a benchmark for every African side that follows.
Sources
- FIFA — Morocco at Qatar 2022: https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022
- BBC Sport — Morocco reach semi-finals: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/63860452
- Wikipedia — Morocco at the FIFA World Cup: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco_at_the_FIFA_World_Cup
