South Korea Sends Germany Out, Letting Morocco Move On

Morocco had overwhelmed Colombia, 1-0. Germany had not overwhelmed South Korea, 1-1. And after all of the minutes, and all of the ready, that was all it took: Morocco, a staff in its first World Cup, a staff that had by no means received a sport within the match per week in the past however now has received two in a row, was by. And it didn’t appear to know what to do.

When the referee’s whistle blew within the Germany sport, Morocco’s gamers broke their huddle and ran. They ran looking for hugs. They ran to seek out teammates. A couple of ran simply to run.

Morocco had already received, in fact. The first North African staff to qualify for the Women’s World Cup, and the primary to subject a participant in a hijab, its mere presence within the match had been an achievement, and an inspiration. Yet Morocco was inquisitive about greater than mere participation.

As one in all eight first-time entrants on this 12 months’s expanded match, it had arrived with a squad that was little recognized even to most Moroccans earlier than it certified on dwelling soil final July. It had received followers and respect in its qualification journey, however even its coach knew the subsequent step could be an enormous one.

“They showed us that they can fill stadiums and make Moroccans happy,” the staff’s French coach, Reynald Pedros, had stated earlier than the match. “They did it on the African stage. Now we are hoping to do the same on the international one.”

Now that they’d, Pedros didn’t appear to know what to do. He burst into tears on the sector as his staff and his workers celebrated their achievement. Players dropped to their knees in thanks. Others embraced. In the middle of all of it, seemingly misplaced and unsure the place to go, or who to hug subsequent, was Pedros.

Back dwelling, pleasure took over Morocco, the place solely seven months in the past followers had crammed the streets to cheer the boys’s staff because it made a run to the World Cup semifinals. Now, the nation might quickly be cheering for its ladies’s squad.

In Casablanca on Thursday morning, folks (principally males) had crammed cafes quietly to look at the sport. There was little hope for Morocco getting into the day, since Colombia led the group and Germany was extensively anticipated to affix it within the knockouts. But when South Korea scored early, and Morocco took the lead in opposition to Colombia simply earlier than halftime when Lahmari banged within the rebound of a missed penalty kick for the opening aim, followers began to hope.

In one cafe, the boys inside checked their telephones repeatedly, updating the rating within the Germany sport. A couple of stated quiet prayers.

As a surprising victory, and an much more surprising chance — development out of the group stage within the staff’s first World Cup — crept nearer, the stress mounted. Across the Mediterranean in France, Kenza Haloui, 34, had left work in Nice to look at the match alone whereas texting together with her cousins in Morocco. She had grown up in Fez and performed soccer her complete life earlier than transferring to Europe. When Morocco lastly received, she stated, “I felt so many emotions.”

At the ultimate whistle, although, the celebrations have been muted: briefs shouts of pleasure, some honking of automotive horns. And then folks transfer on with their day.

Soumia Idba, 39, watched the sport on the workplace in Casablanca, however couldn’t assist however discover how troublesome it had been to view it. “It was very hard to find a way to watch a game,” Idba stated. “It wasn’t like in Qatar. Most Moroccans watch online.”

If the celebrations have been subdued, although, the staff’s subsequent sport might stoke extra feelings: By advancing, Morocco earned a date with France within the spherical of 16 on Tuesday. It is identical matchup that, in December on the males’s World Cup, introduced followers into the streets of Casablanca and Marrakesh and dozens of cities throughout North Africa and Europe. France received that day, ending the dream of Morocco’s males’s staff.

The nation now has a second likelihood. Its ladies’s staff has one thing nobody anticipated: its first.