At last, Morocco have arrived at the tournament they are hosting. For four games they had played scratchy, crabbed football. Finally, in a spiky, ill-tempered quarter-final, there was something more like the Morocco that reached the semi-final of the World Cup just over three years ago. If the game wasn’t fluent, that was largely Cameroon’s doing as they spoiled and sought treatment. But the hosts, for the most part, retained their cool, protecting a lead earned with verve in the first half with maturity in the second.
In previous games, Morocco had looked tense, limbs leadened by the expectation of a country that last won the Cup of Nations 50 years ago and has spent a vast amount on football-related infrastructure as it prepares to co-host the 2030 World Cup. The coach, Walid Regragui, was even booed in the 1-0 last-16 victory over Tanzania, his football deemed overly cautious despite a record of only four defeats in his 46 games in charge before this quarter-final. Images broadcast from the respective dressing rooms on the screens inside the stadium before kick-off showed Morocco pensive and focused while Cameroon sang and danced.
Continue reading…At last, Morocco have arrived at the tournament they are hosting. For four games they had played scratchy, crabbed football. Finally, in a spiky, ill-tempered quarter-final, there was something more like the Morocco that reached the semi-final of the World Cup just over three years ago. If the game wasn’t fluent, that was largely Cameroon’s doing as they spoiled and sought treatment. But the hosts, for the most part, retained their cool, protecting a lead earned with verve in the first half with maturity in the second.In previous games, Morocco had looked tense, limbs leadened by the expectation of a country that last won the Cup of Nations 50 years ago and has spent a vast amount on football-related infrastructure as it prepares to co-host the 2030 World Cup. The coach, Walid Regragui, was even booed in the 1-0 last-16 victory over Tanzania, his football deemed overly cautious despite a record of only four defeats in his 46 games in charge before this quarter-final. Images broadcast from the respective dressing rooms on the screens inside the stadium before kick-off showed Morocco pensive and focused while Cameroon sang and danced. Continue reading…
