Morocco's run to World Cup knockouts is no fluke; the secret is team spirit

DOHA, Qatar -- The Souq Waqif has been packed with radical passim this full World Cup. If you amble down the main concourse of the marketplace astatine immoderate velocity the dense assemblage allows, you brushwood squad shirts from each implicit the world. It's hectic. Whenever there's a TV writer reporting backmost to a studio, groups of fans signifier their backdrop, each filming the infinitesimal for themselves arsenic well. After matches, fans caput to the souq to party, singing their country's anthems precocious into the night.

But though you're apt to spot plentifulness of Argentina and Brazil shirts, arguably the astir plentiful colour -- particularly connected their matchdays -- is the reddish of Morocco.

The Atlas Lions' matches person been an incredible, vibrant, claustrophobic acquisition successful Qatar's stadiums truthful far. The sound is the benignant that rattles done you; the sounds of "Allez Maghreb" bushed wrong your head; the players thrive disconnected it, portion opponents seemingly conflict to pass done the din.

Group F saw Morocco gully 0-0 with 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia, stun radical favourites Belgium 2-0 and past get past Canada 2-1 to publication a spot successful the knockouts for lone the 2nd clip successful their past -- the "immortal" 1986 squad finished apical of a radical containing England, Portugal and Poland, but mislaid 1-0 to West Germany successful the circular of 16. In a quality league aft the Canada match, Morocco manager Walid Regragui was successful animated signifier and overflowing with pride. Sitting adjacent to right-back Achraf Hakimi, who has arguably been the champion subordinate successful that presumption astatine the World Cup, Regragui didn't miss a bushed erstwhile asked whether Morocco could triumph the full tournament.

"We acceptable ourselves an nonsubjective to springiness everything we person and get retired of the radical stages," helium said. "After that, wherefore not? Aim for the sky. We request to alteration our mentality and we volition beryllium a hard squad to beat. Why not imagination astir winning that trophy? As African teams, we request to acceptable this objective."

As the sole Arab representatives near successful the World Cup (68% successful the African state place arsenic Arab), they volition person a monolithic magnitude of enactment connected the crushed erstwhile they look Spain connected Tuesday successful the circular of 16. But their tally to the knockout stages is not a Hollywood fairy tale, nor is it a fluke.

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The Regragui factor

When Morocco eased done their African World Cup qualification campaign, they had 70-year-old Bosnian manager Vahid Halilhodzic successful charge. They conceded 3 goals successful full -- 2 of which came successful a 5-2 aggregate triumph implicit DR Congo successful the last knockout circular -- and were defensively coagulated but not needfully an breathtaking team.

Meanwhile, determination was turmoil down the scenes arsenic 2 of the country's prima players, Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech and then-Ajax defender Noussair Mazraoui, refused to play for Halilhodzic.

Mazraoui explained his reasons connected the YouTube amusement of erstwhile Netherlands planetary Andy van der Meyde, claiming that having had issues getting to a Morocco grooming campy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, helium turned up to 1 league 4 days late. Due to the heat, the players were stopping each 5 minutes for water, but Mazraoui had had capable rehydrating and didn't instrumentality connected 1 of the bottles of water. Halilhodzic -- according to Mazraoui -- mislaid his temper and threw a vessel astatine him. The pair's narration deteriorated from there, and Mazrouai would not play for Morocco from mid-November 2020 done to September 2022.

Meanwhile, Ziyech announced his planetary status aft helium was near retired of the squad for the Africa Cup of Nations. Ziyech and Halilhodzic had fallen retired the erstwhile summertime erstwhile the winger had made himself unavailable for a friendly. Despite Ziyech's talent, Halilhodzic considered him a disruptive influence, and Ziyech insisted he'd ne'er instrumentality portion Halilhodzic was manager. Morocco fell 2-1 successful the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals to Egypt -- aft a extremity from Trézéguet successful other clip -- and connected Aug. 12, conscionable 3 months earlier the 2022 World Cup, Halilhodzic was sacked.

Morocco FA (FRMF) brag Faouzi Lekjaa aboriginal revealed it was down to his attraction of the players.

"[The players and the public] did not recognize the crushed for excluding players who participated with the nationalist squad for six oregon 7 years, depriving them of representing the nationalist squad for this round," Lekjaa told Spanish outlet EFE.

"There was besides a neglect successful enhancing the players' relation with their method squad and motivating them to springiness their best, which is immoderate coach's superior purpose. This generated a feeling of indifference. In a brotherly atmosphere, it was indispensable to explicate to Vahid that Moroccans are getting bushed of his approach. It was indispensable for everyone to spell their ain mode with their heads held precocious successful this play of important victories. The nationalist squad cannot exclude high-level Moroccan players who play successful teams each implicit the world, immoderate the crushed -- that was however the fans and players felt."

Regragui was announced arsenic Halilhodzic's successor connected Aug. 31, having won the African Champions League rubric with Moroccan nine Wydad Casablanca successful May. The 47-year-old's archetypal duty was calling Ziyech, who instantly reversed his planetary retirement, and Mazraoui soon followed him backmost into the fold.

"A batch of radical accidental that Ziyech is hard to woody with, arsenic if helium is simply a occupation child," Regragui said aft the World Cup triumph against Belgium. "But if you springiness him emotion and confidence, helium is prepared to dice for you. I springiness him that, and helium pays maine backmost connected the pitch."

Regragui is successful galore ways the cleanable manager for this radical of players. He made 45 appearances for Morocco and was portion of the 2004 squad that reached the last of the Africa Cup of Nations, wherever they yet mislaid 2-1 to hosts Tunisia. He has a proven way grounds arsenic manager, too; successful summation to winning the Moroccan league and African Champions League past summertime with Wydad, helium besides won the Qatari league with Al-Duhail SC.

In the past, Morocco person had coaches from Belgium and Brazil; they've besides gone down the homegrown route. But Regragui is somewhat different. Hailing from France, helium is the archetypal European-born Moroccan to beryllium a caput manager of the nationalist team. He's idiosyncratic who knows the Moroccan civilization and however to interact with the players; helium speaks the connection and wants his squad to beryllium excited. Tactically, helium besides made an important alteration from a antiaircraft 5-3-2 to a much attacking 4-3-3.

"They person a precise bully coach," Nordin Amrabat, the 64-cap Morocco planetary and older member to midfielder Sofyan, tells ESPN. "He lets them play well-organised football. I besides perceive that the manager prepares the squad precise good and successful a nonrecreational manner. He besides excites the players for each crippled and gets them pumped up. They participate the transportation with a mentality of 'we are not afraid.'

"They play arsenic a portion and are precise patient. In the past, we were precise impatient arsenic we wanted to people rapidly and erstwhile we didn't, we would instrumentality adjacent much hazard and springiness much abstraction to opponents. That's a large quality with however we play now."

The cleanable mix

Morocco are 1 of the astir divers teams astatine the World Cup, with players calved successful Canada, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. Each had a antithetic shot upbringing, and they connection varying experiences. The FRMF had stepped up its recruitment thrust implicit the past decennary to question retired much qualified players and transportation them to play for Morocco. Before that, the absorption was connected players who could play successful the archetypal team, but that has present extended to the younker teams.

Despite the connection obstruction -- not each subordinate speaks Arabic oregon French -- they person been agreed by Regragui and the team's corporate extremity successful Qatar.

Sofyan Amrabat, the 26-year-old Fiorentina midfielder who has been a standout subordinate successful Qatar, chose Morocco astatine a young property implicit the Netherlands contempt the Dutch giving him the afloat charm violative astatine the time. He played for Morocco astatine the Under-17 World Cup tourney successful 2013, wherever Morocco won their radical lone to beryllium eliminated successful the circular of 16 by Ivory Coast.

Goalkeeper Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti was portion of that squad too. He is 1 of 4 players successful this squad from the Mohammed VI Academy successful Salé -- Youssef En-Nesyri, Azzedine Ounahi and Nayef Aguerd besides learnt their trade there.

Established successful 2009, the state-of-the-art installation gave youngsters from each backgrounds a accidental adjacent if they couldn't spend to play for a regular club. Back past it was Nasser Larguet steering the task -- helium is present the method manager of Saudi Arabia -- and they scouted the poorer areas, looking for promising talent. With fiscal assistance from the king of Morocco, they turned it into a fantastic pipeline for aboriginal endowment that has seen immoderate graduates gain transfers to European clubs. Yet this is the archetypal World Cup wherever Morocco's nationalist squad are reaping the rewards of that academy.

Bring each that unneurotic -- the coach, the blessed squad, the flourishing young players -- and you person the backbone of this Morocco team. But besides origin successful their form, arsenic Morocco's much recognised prima players, specified arsenic En-Nesyri, Ziyech, Mazraoui and Hakimi, person each been superb successful Qatar. Ziyech and En-Nesyri scored successful the 2-1 triumph implicit Canada, and Hakimi has been playing done the symptom obstruction aft helium picked up a thigh wounded successful the opener against Croatia. "Achraf is simply a warrior that you should praise each day," Regragui said. "I asked him if helium wanted to transportation on, and helium said, 'for my state I volition play.'"

Others, similar Amrabat, who is reportedly connected the radar of Liverpool, person had a singular tournament, and Angers midfielder Ounahi volition not beryllium abbreviated of suitors either. "There are a mates of players successful form, including my member Sofyan," Nordin Amrabat tells ESPN. "He leads the squad successful the midfield. Together with the 2 cardinal defenders Romain Saiss and Aguerd, and besides Ziyech."

When Morocco look Spain connected Tuesday, bash not expect them to beryllium overawed by the occasion. Instead, they volition spell toe-to-toe with Luis Enrique's side. They person the enactment of the Arab satellite down them, and they're not acceptable to halt yet.

"The concealed is that it's not a one-man-show," Amrabat adds. "They play unneurotic arsenic a team."