World Cup 2022: Could Morocco win for Africa?

In our bid of letters from African journalists, Maher Mezahi looks astatine Africa's chances of winning the shot World Cup, yet fulfilling Pele's prediction.

The world's biggest enactment took spot astatine Education City stadium successful Doha connected Tuesday nighttime erstwhile Morocco upset Spain successful the 2022 Fifa World Cup circular of 16.

The immense bulk of the 44,000-strong assemblage was overwhelmed by emotion aft Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi sealed triumph with a cheeky panenka punishment kick.

Moroccans poured retired into the streets of Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakesh, and practically each superior metropolis successful Western Europe to celebrate.

After the squad danced, hugged and cried successful the dressing room, manager Walid Regragui made an highly important declaration successful his post-match property conference.

"At immoderate constituent successful Africa, we person to beryllium ambitious and wherefore not triumph the World Cup, adjacent if it's going to beryllium hard," helium said.

The declaration was a motion of a paradigm displacement successful however African nations attack the World Cup, and it is fitting that it came from Regragui, who represents a paradigm-shift successful African coaching.

Not lone did helium chopped his teeth connected the continent, spending his formative years coaching home shot successful Morocco, helium is besides portion of the inaugural Caf Pro Licence people of 2018 - the precise archetypal radical of coaches who secured football's highest coaching diploma wholly connected the continent.

He represents everything that is close successful African football: He's young, competent, cosmopolitan, fearless and a pan-Africanist astatine heart.

Senegal's Aliou Cissé, Algeria's Djamel Belmadi, Tunisia's Radhi Jaidi and South Africa's Benni McCarthy are different examples of the caller African coaching prototype.

It is nary coincidence that the 2022 World Cup was the archetypal clip each 5 African nations had African coaches to pb them.

But is Regragui right? Should Africa beryllium asking itself if it tin triumph a World Cup?

As an African shot journalist, I often dread the week up of World Cups because, without fail, astatine slightest 1 Western media outlet volition inquire maine astir Pele's apocryphal mid-1970s prediction that an African squad would triumph the tourney earlier the twelvemonth 2000.

In the past, I mostly offered a cursory motion of the shoulders, and replied that Pele said a batch of things that did not needfully mean much, and near it astatine that.

This year, however, I re-considered my dismissive response.

In November, Cameroon shot federation president Samuel Eto'o Fils declared that helium was expecting Cameroon to bushed Morocco successful an all-African final.

He was instantly ridiculed online, mostly by his ain compatriots, but his connection elicited a antithetic effect from maine - it piqued my curiosity.

"What stopped an African squad from winning a World Cup successful years past?" I asked myself.

It begins with the colonisation of the continent.

The unfortunate world is that passim the 7 World Cups that took spot from 1930 to 1962, Egypt successful 1934 was the continent's sole representative.

That is partially down to the brutal colonisation of the continent by Western European nations, and partially down to Fifa's erstwhile bosses refusing to assistance Africa an automatic spot astatine the tournament, adjacent for countries that had gained independence.

In 1966, the African continent boycotted the World Cup successful England to nonstop a connection to Fifa that it demanded a guaranteed spot astatine the tournament, which it past secured successful 1970.

Over the adjacent 3 decades, African teams managed superb upsets, including Algeria defeating West Germany, Morocco dispatching Portugal, and Cameroon bludgeoning Argentina (in much ways than one).

Despite this, Fifa continued to resistance its feet, awarding African nations lone 2 places successful 1982, 3 successful 1994, and past 5 successful 1998.

So 1 crushed Africa is yet to triumph a World Cup is that it has hardly been participating.

Some mightiness constituent to mediocre results successful the past 12 years, but who is to accidental that accrued information would not person led to accrued contention and improvement?

The prize wealth for simply participating successful the World Cup could person been injected into grassroots shot astir the continent, importantly improving the prime of play.

Nearly a period aft the inaugural World Cup was hosted successful Uruguay, Africa volition yet beryllium awarded a much equitable fig of places, erstwhile we volition person 9.5 places successful 2026 - inching america a spot person to planetary parity.

The 2022 World Cup has besides shown america that a deficiency of representation, not lone successful the signifier of qualification slots, but besides successful the signifier of hosting rights, tin beryllium highly influential.

South Korea made the semi-finals successful 2002 erstwhile they co-hosted the tournament, portion the Black Stars of Ghana were a penalty-kick distant from the semi-finals successful 2010 successful Africa's archetypal World Cup successful South Africa.

Is it simply a coincidence that Africa and Asia's champion ever finishes came the lone clip the continents person hosted the tournaments?

The 2022 World Cup has shown america that the reply is: astir apt not.

Three Asian sides qualified for the knockout stages this year, and the Qatar World Cup has been, by far, the astir palmy tourney ever connected the transportation for African countries.

The 24 cumulative points retired of their 15 radical signifier matches smashed a erstwhile grounds of 15 points acceptable successful the 2002 tournament.

Cameroon became the archetypal African federation to bushed Brazil astatine a World Cup tournament, Tunisia scored a triumph implicit reigning champions France, and Morocco became the archetypal African federation to triumph a group, with 7 points to their name.

Watching droves of Saudi, Moroccan and Tunisian supporters spur their teams connected to historical victories has been a enactment of caller air.

The cherry connected apical of this "World Cup of upsets" would beryllium if Morocco could talk Regragui's words into beingness and triumph the competition.

When considering however stoutly they support and however bully their goalkeeper Yassine Bono is, they volition ever person a accidental successful tourney play.

Morocco judge that they are 270 minutes from being champions of the world. Maybe it is clip that we besides judge them.