Great pride in a historic moment for a modern Morocco

A large group of Moroccans in Madrid enjoyed the victory of their national soccer team against Portugal in the World Cup in Qatar, which will allow them to play a semifinal. Afterwards, several thousand celebrated in Puerta del Sol the new feat of their Atlas lions.

For the first time in history, an African and Arab world team has reached the semifinals of a World Cup after beating Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the quarterfinals.

In a local of Madrid, La Grada, the ambassador of Morocco in Spain, Karima Benyaich, managed to gather the ambassadors of Qatar, Libya and Ghana to act as a valuable and triumphant representative of African and Arab soccer.

Businessmen, teachers, professionals and many women and young people did not dare, when the match started, to assure that the Atlas Lions could achieve the feat of following the winning path that had allowed them to eliminate such powerful European teams as Belgium and Spain from the World Cup.

Their hope began to come true when shortly before halftime, Sevilla's En-Nesyri headed in the only goal of the game. 

Flags, T-shirts, music, applause, trumpets, drums and the portrait of Mohamed VI presided over the jubilation and joy of Moroccan fans totally devoted to their national team. There was no lack of the usual Moroccan hospitality with canapés, sweets, tea, juice and water to make the tension of the match more bearable.

After the usual suffering of the last few minutes played with one less player, dreams came true. The ambassador could not contain her emotion and appreciated the significance of this sporting success: "It is a historic day, a day of great pride, and the players born in Morocco and abroad have become the best ambassadors of a modern country, on the move and representing the entire African continent and the Arab world". 

Karima Benyaich underlined the fundamental role played by King Mohammed VI as the driving force for years of a policy of support for sport, with investments in sports facilities and management and training equipment, as well as support for Moroccan players who play in top European teams, "the Atlas lions who have written the history of a modern Morocco on the move" in a sister country such as Qatar, which has offered us the best conditions. 

Joy, emotion, jubilation, pride in being Moroccan and also in being Spanish, said many of the young men and women present at a celebration that contributes to strengthening the identity of a people both at its borders and in the community living in Europe.

Soccer acts as a catalyst and sociological phenomenon that allows everyone to dream.
"Nobody can take away the fact that we are among the four best teams in the world," boasted a young woman who dared to challenge whoever she was playing in the semi-final, be it France or England. 

As fate would have it, Morocco's next opponent in this World Cup will be France, with political, historical and social connotations that will turn this semi-final into much more than just a soccer match. It is a milestone for the Moroccan people, who already feel like winners and great protagonists of the World Cup in Qatar, whatever the result with France.