Morocco has a bronze dream, the last step remains. We are not only playing for ourselves, but for the entire continent, the coach knows

Before we continue talking about the present, let’s go back in time for a moment. can we

1982: At the World Cup in Spain, fresh Algeria surprised with a win over West Germany, but in the end it was of no use to them. The Germans defeated the Austrians in a scandalous match – and both teams went on to advance thanks to better scores at the expense of the Algerians, which is still embarrassing forty years later.

1990: Who doesn’t love the smiling striker Roger Milla? With hungry friends in Italy, he made it to the top eight. It could have been better if England had not been saved by today’s popular glossator Gary Lineker in the quarter-finals.

1994: A red-hot United States applauds the light-footed Nigerians as they sweep Bulgaria 3-0 in its most famous era. The narrow round of 16 was decided by the stilted Italian Roberto Baggio.

2002: Senegal’s debut at the World Cup – and the quarter-finals! The group around the late Papa Bouba Diop shocked Korea with their opening victory over the world champions from France.

2010: Who knows how things would have turned out against Ghana in South Africa if Uruguayan rebel Luis Suárez had not used his hands to deflect the ball flying into the goal in the quarter-finals. And then the pity of the botched penalties.

The aforementioned stories of African sensations were trumped this year by Morocco, which of all the teams from the black continent went the farthest in the World Cup. The cry of the loyal fans “dima Maghreb” (forever Morocco) has become a classic at the championship and can accompany the bronze medal presentation on Saturday. Yes, that’s how far coach Rajrajjui and his boys have flown.

In Qatar, they started with an unexpected 0:0 draw with Croatia, with whom they will also share a historical record. “We know that we are not only playing for ourselves, but for the whole of Africa,” explains coach Rajrajjui.

The main weapons of his team: passion, the form of key players from big European clubs and a solid defense. The Moroccans conceded only three times, the fewest of all teams still in the game. However, in the semi-final with France (0:2), three defenders dropped out due to injury and the question is whether they will manage to get together. The absence of the stopper Romain Saís and the extreme all-rounder Nussajír Mazráví, who were already languishing during the tournament, could be fatal.

Disappointed semi-finalists are sometimes played out of necessity, but that shouldn’t be the case on Saturday. Also because of the Croatians, who can build on the bronze from France 1998 and the silver from the last championship, which would be a fairy tale for a country of four million people. “We’ve had a great tournament and the bronze is a huge motivation for us,” says captain Luka Modrič.

So far, it has always been true for his country: promotion from the group = medals. True, this year it is not such a ride as four years ago in Russia, where Croatia stopped only in the final. Modrič et al. in Qatar, they won their only game after 90 minutes and are missing a goal-scoring striker. In the semi-final, there was also a slap from Argentina, who easily won 3:0.

“If someone had told us a month ago that we would be playing for bronze, we would have accepted it,” says coach Zlatko Dalič. “Being third in the world is not enough.”