After Morocco shocked the football world by beating pre-tournament favorites Belgium 2-0 in a Group F match, Paris Saint-Germain fullback Achraf Hakimi addressed his mother directly in the stands. .
Their hug and subsequent cheek pinch went viral on social media platforms. The 24-year-old footballer then posted an Instagram photo of him planting a kiss on his mother’s forehead with the caption: “I love you mom.”
But Hakimi’s mother is not the only Moroccan mother to have traveled to Qatar to support her son at the 2022 World Cup.
Family love
Following the instructions of the coach Walid Regragui and the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, Fouzi Lekjaa, the family members chosen by all Moroccan squad members are entitled to an all-inclusive trip to Qatar.
As a result, the Morocco base at the Wyndham Doha West Bay hotel occasionally feels like an adorable parent-run summer camp. For some, like Regragui’s mother, Fatima, the trip was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“During his entire career as a player and as a coach, I never traveled to see him,” she told the Moroccan sports channel Arriyadia. “I have lived in France for more than 50 years and this is the first competition for which I left Paris.”
The parents of midfielder Abdelhamid Sabiri have been one of those who carry cameras. They spent a few days wandering around the hotel, getting souvenir photos with Chelsea midfielder Hakim Ziyech, Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bono and, of course, manager Regragui.
Every time the television microphones have been shoved in their faces, the proud parents of the Moroccan players have gushed about their sons and how they regard all the “boys” on the team as their own.
Beyond the poignant posts on social media, generating positive energy is part of Regragui’s strategy to gain intangible advantages that will translate on the pitch. He said so immediately after taking office, at the Mohamed VI Complex in Maamoura, when he declared: “Our success is not possible without the happiness of our parents.”
Morocco are underdogs at this World Cup, but by reaching the round of 16 for the first time since 1986, they have already thrilled their fans and families. They’ve also become a team that many neutrals are rooting for: emotional scenes like Hakimi’s with his mom probably help.
But there is another element in the magic potion that carries Morocco’s hopes: the throngs of Moroccan supporters who have made Qatar’s stadiums their second home.
Home Support Advantage
At least 15,000 Moroccans live in Qatar and several thousand more, from around the world, have made the journey to the first World Cup hosted by Arab countries, creating intimidating atmospheres for the opposing teams in each of their group stage matches. .
Perhaps the most pertinent example of home support helping the Atlas Lions came in the closing stages of the game against Belgium. After taking a 1-0 lead with 15 minutes remaining, Morocco prepared to absorb the pressure and launch counterattacks. If the World Cup had been in Europe or South America, where home attendances would have been noticeably lower, those 15 minutes might have felt like an hour.
Instead, a cacophony of whistles and boos fell on the Belgian players at the Al Thumama Stadium every time they took possession of the ball. Cathartic roars erupted from the stands every time the ball was cleared.
“I swear to God if the fans hadn’t been here we wouldn’t have made it to the next round!” exclaimed Regragui, after the last game of the group stage.
Combine the pressure Moroccan supporters have brought to bear on the opposition in Qatar with scientific evidence pointing to the higher levels of testosterone enjoyed by home teams, and the North African side have had their supporters much to thank for.
Of course, that doesn’t take away from the quality of the players themselves, who have beaten other Arab teams in the World Cup. But ahead of their round of 16 clash with Spain, demand for tickets has been so high that the Moroccan soccer federation purchased an additional 5,000 tickets for fans.
Draped in their majestic red flags and armed with darbuka goblet drums, Moroccan supporters are likely to make Education City another local venue on Tuesday night.
Leaning on the diaspora
There is a quarter-final spot at stake, but there is also a deeper sociological context behind Morocco’s clash with Spain.
After facing Belgium, Morocco will play a second Western European country with a sizeable Moroccan diaspora. In total, 137 players at the 2022 World Cup represent a country other than the country in which they were born.
That includes 14 of the 26 players in Regragui’s squad, making Morocco the most reliant on diaspora talent from the 32 nations competing in Qatar.
However, while such a scenario could, in theory, complicate team chemistry, as the players come from different upbringings, this mix of birthplaces seems to have worked for Morocco. One reason, according to the players’ parents: those in the diaspora are possibly more fans of the Moroccan national team than some at home.
At the Wyndham last week, many of the players’ parents bragged about their sons’ passion for the national team and their decision to represent Morocco rather than seek to play for the country of their birth.
Striker Zakaria Aboukhlal’s father, Tarek, said: “It’s [Zakaria] He was born in Holland, and there he has everything he needs, but our blood is Moroccan”.
The father of midfielder Bilal el-Khannouss was even sharper in explaining why his Belgian-born son chose to play for Morocco. “His heart spoke to him about him,” the father said.
Immediately after securing qualification for the round of 16, the French-born Regragui admitted he had been thinking about the 1986 World Cup, when the team last made it past the group stage. “At the time I was living in the French suburbs, and when Morocco beat Portugal, it was the happiest I had ever been in my life,” he said.
Now his team is about to scale new heights: a place in the World Cup quarterfinals would be unprecedented. Spain will be the bookmakers’ choice, but Morocco has shown the world what it is capable of during this tournament.
Mom’s love is helping.
