After the defeat, Morocco’s players take on Gianni Infantino
With a Schlenzer dream goal, Croatia shoots up to third place – the highlights in the video
After the runners-up World Cup in 2018, Croatia secured third place this time. In an entertaining game for third place, a fantastic flick decides the match against the sensational World Cup team from Morocco. The highlights in the video.
At the end of a successful tournament, frustration dominated. After losing the match for third place, the Moroccans took on the Qatari referee and FIFA. President Gianni Infantino was insulted by players in the stadium.
Dhe most successful World Cup in soccer history for an African team ended in loud anger. “Fifa Mafia” echoed through the Chalifa International Stadium in Qatar when the World Federation President Gianni Infantino honored the winner of the small final there on Saturday evening.
It wasn’t the Moroccans. They lost the game for third place against Croatia deservedly 1:2 (1:2). But even though they went as far as any representative from their continent had ever done at this World Cup, everyone was pissed at the moment.
Aggressive after the final whistle: Morocco’s players run after referee Abdulrahman Al Jassim
Those: dpa/Francisco Seco
The Moroccan players pressed the referee Abdulrahman Al Jassim after the final whistle. The vast majority of the Moroccan fans in the 44,137 spectators turned their anger on Infantino, not least because a referee with little international experience from the World Cup host country Qatar was allowed to referee this game, which was so important for them. According to reports, the Fifa president was even verbally abused by Moroccan players on the way to the dressing room. And all because Al Jassim had denied the big surprise team of this World Cup two supposed penalties in the final stages.
Coach Regragui remains level-headed
The only one who kept his cool in the tumult was Morocco coach Walid Regragui. He shook hands with the referee fairly. On the one hand, at least these two contested decisions were justifiable. On the other hand, the image of his team, which is so successful and celebrated so often, is very important to Regragui at this World Cup. It should not receive a scratch after the last of seven games in Qatar.
“When we lose a game, we are always disappointed. If you sometimes overreact after a game, that can happen,” said the 47-year-old. “My players are very ambitious, it wasn’t a lack of respect.” Nevertheless: Pressing the referee after the game was “not the Moroccan way”. At the end of the tournament, it was too much of everything for them: too many games, too many key player failures, “too much fatigue”, as Regragui said.
Riots: Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi (left) gestures towards the referee. Coach Walid Regragui appeased
Those: dpa/Francisco Seco
The coach, who has only been in office since August, was nevertheless certain: “When we wake up tomorrow, we will realize what great things we have achieved at this World Cup,” said Regragui. “If you had told me before the World Cup: Morocco is one of the top four teams in the world – I would have dismissed that.”
From the start of this tournament, the French-born ex-professional wanted to do more than just coach Morocco. He also always wanted to set an example that African football as a whole can do more and is further than is often seen in other parts of the world. Only three weeks ago, Regragui was still talking about surviving the preliminary round – and now about a completely different goal.
“We have shown that in Africa we work hard and develop. I’m sure that one day a team from Africa will win the World Cup,” he said. “Other African teams will want to follow our example. And we will have more experience in 2026. We’re getting further and further, step by step. Even in our country they didn’t believe in us. But we proved the opposite.”
At the end of his press conference, Regragui stood up and thanked everyone in the room. With the journalists, with the employees. He didn’t rant like his players after the final whistle. His sentence when saying goodbye to this World Cup was: “Long live Africa!”
