Moroccans wildly celebrate their team’s historic victory World People across the Middle East and North Africa flocked to the Cup knockout victory over Spain on Tuesday, which they saw as a victory for the entire Arab world.
Arabs from Baghdad to Tunis rejoiced as Morocco became the first Arabic-speaking nation to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar, the first to be hosted in an Arab country.
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In Rabat, where fans had crowded into cafes hours in advance to watch the game, people jammed the streets of the city where fans had attended after Morocco’s previous victory, waving flags from their windows and Horns were blaring.
“It’s the first time I’ve felt this!” Fahad Belbachir said on his way to the city center. “We’re very proud.”
Leaders of the Arab world praised the Moroccan side.
“Congratulations Atlas Lions, you have delighted us. Wow Morocco, you did it again!”, Jordan’s Queen Rania wrote on Twitter.
In Rabat, Brahim Ait Belkhit said the spontaneous outpouring of joy was so great that he had gotten into a fight with someone he had avoided for years and then seen in the street. He said, ‘This made us forget our old quarrels.’
Cheers also rang out in Tunis, Beirut, Baghdad, Ramallah and other cities as Arabs rejoiced in a massive unexpected victory over highly fanatical Spain. It echoed the pan-Arab pride brought forth during several memorable displays by Arab sides at the Qatar World Cup – a stark contrast to the political disputes that have long divided Arab states.
Outside the stadium in Doha, where Moroccan fans outnumbered Spaniards with more than 44,000 attending, women raised their voices in jubilation and men beat drums in a spontaneous dance party.
Hundreds of Moroccan fans had flown into Qatar for the game to join a large number of resident Moroccans, and there was some melee as those without tickets were unable to enter the stadium.
“I grew up watching the big Spanish teams, Barcelona and Madrid. So defeating a huge country like Spain is a huge victory for Morocco,” said Taha Lahrougui, a 23-year-old Moroccan national who lives in Doha.
The conquest of Spain, which ruled swathes of Morocco in the colonial era and where many Moroccans now live, may feel especially sweet. Fans packed Barcelona’s Raval neighborhood, waving Moroccan flags, cheering and lighting flares. The winning penalty taker, Achraf Hakimi, was himself born in Madrid.
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“Nothing is impossible at the World Cup,” said Ahmed Enoubli, half-Tunisian, half-Algerian, who lives in Doha and is married to a Moroccan woman.
“We have an Arab team. Look at these fans. Do you think they’re all Moroccan? No – just Arabs,” he said, pointing to the huge, jubilant crowd.
Arab and African conquests
Qatar’s Amir Tamim watched the game at the stadium, giving the thumbs up sign and holding the Moroccan flag, and congratulations poured in from Arab leaders for the winning team.
Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dabibah all congratulated the Moroccan team.
“It is a victory for all Arabs, not only Moroccans, and the joy is even greater since it was achieved on Arab soil,” said Hazem Al Fayez from Jordan, who with friends was sitting in his car in the center of Amman. were respecting
“Today Morocco gave victory to all Arabs,” said Hassan Salim, a Palestinian watching the game in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
“I think this is a great and much needed victory for the youth of the Arab world, and especially for the youth of Morocco,” said Ralph Beydoun, 31, in Beirut.
Fans clapped and sang after the match at a cafe in Tunis. “It is a historic victory and Morocco is honoring all Arabs and Africans,” said Noureddine Sassi, who was watching with friends.
Morocco is also the last African team left in the tournament and the fourth team to reach the quarter-finals after Cameroon in 1990, Nigeria in 1994 and Ghana in 2012.
Morocco has fully embraced its African and Amazigh, as well as Arab, identities in recent decades, and this victory was cheered elsewhere on the continent as well.
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of Sudan’s deputy ruling council, tweeted “thank you to the Lions of the Atlas”, adding “congratulations to the Arab and African fans”.
“It’s a dream come true. We won – and Africa won with us,” said Lahsane Damole, a teacher in the crowd cheering for his country’s victory in central Rabat.
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