Could they dream of a better reunion? Could they imagine such an idyllic scenario? Could they offer a better gift to this people? In the wake of a historic World Cup concluded in a semi-finalist place, the players of Morocco continued to ride the Qatari wave, carried by an audience still as crazy about them, still as inflamed when it acts to shout their love, their fervor and their passion to them.
With the same desire, the same determination and the same desire to always give their all, Morocco overcame Brazil this Saturday evening in front of the 65,000 spectators gathered in the big stadium of Tangier in fusion on the goals of Sofiane Boufal (29th ) and Abelhamid Sabiri (78th).
In an incandescent atmosphere, Walid Regragui’s men lived up to the welcome given to them by their fans. Above all, they demonstrated to the football world that Morocco had become a nation that counts and on which we will have to continue to count in the years to come. For the first time in their history, the Moroccans have defeated the quintuples of the world and there is almost nothing to say as they competed, eye to eye with this Brazil, certainly reworked and rejuvenated, but all the same.
Abelhamid Sabiri, hero of the evening
Galvanized by a public present en masse three hours before kick-off and which did not let go for 90 minutes to the sounds of “Sir sir”, (dash, dash), Achraf Hakimi’s partners clung to their hunting board for a new behemoth of world football after bringing down Spain and Portugal during the World Cup. The recipe was known to the protagonists: of the eleven holders present during the competition, ten were aligned, including Achraf Hakimi, recovered from his thigh pain, even if he seemed borrowed during the 50 minutes during which he played.
From the start, the Atlas Lions tried to put the pressure on and they were rewarded shortly before the half-hour mark with a goal from Sofiane Boufal celebrated by smoke bombs. But if the public saw that the madness and creativity of its attacking players had not changed since Qatar, they saw their goalkeeper Bono, so heroic during the competition, show a disturbing feverishness. His errors of assessment in front of Rodrygo (24th) and Vinicius (29th) could have been expensive. Finally, he waited for the return from the locker room to commit a big handball on Casemiro’s goal when the strike from the Manchester United midfielder was innocuous to say the least (68th).
But it was said and written that this reunion evening could not end on a dumpling, on an error that would have made a stain and that the public wanted to forget. It took a happy hero to sublimate this gala poster. So Abelhamid Sabiri, who had just entered the game, worked to turn the whole public around by deceiving the Brazilian goalkeeper with a heavy shot under the bar (78th). The big stadium of Tangier could explode with joy and shout its happiness to see his team offer him this shot of joy. Three months later, nothing has changed: Morocco is a party.
