Thousands of people received the Moroccan players in Rabat as heroes, as thanks for their great World Cup in Qatar-2022, where they reached the semifinals and signed the best historical performance in the tournament by an African team.
Among the crowd, fans of all ages cheered for their idols, who paraded in a red bus from the airport to the avenues of the Moroccan capital.
The fans waited in many cases for hours, for the most part with Morocco national team jerseys and flags. In front of the train station, flares were lit, AFP journalists found.
The entire squad, which made the country dream for almost a month, was later received by the King Mohammed VI.
In Morocco ?? (4th place) it was also a national holiday ? pic.twitter.com/YxOL4pQH8e
— Sergio Chouza (@SergioChouza) December 20, 2022
The sovereign, accompanied by Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, decorated the president of the Moroccan Federation, the coach Walid Regragui and the playerswho were accompanied by their mothers, according to the MAP press agency.
Morocco was defeated in semifinals World Cup for France (2-0) and lost 2-1 to Croatia in the duel for third placeso it ended quarter among the 32 participants.
Before, the Lions of the Atlas had surprised winning his group, in which Belgium was eliminated. Later they eliminated Spain in the round of 16 and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the quarterfinals.
His presence in the semifinals of Qatar-2022 made history for African football.
Until now the best performances of the continent in the World Cup were the quarterfinals reached by Cameroon in Italy-1990, Senegal in South Korea/Japan-2002 and Ghana in South Africa-2010.
World Cup heroes return home. Morocco ??❤️ pic.twitter.com/86tajsQVCb
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 20, 2022
