Morocco: A Dream Over Or a Ballad For What Comes Next?

Morocco came in as underdogs in the world cup tournament; a tournament no one gave them a chance in, but now they exist as Africa’s dream team as the western media sings them the ballad sung of fallen heroes.

But is this the last we would see of them or of an African team being so good in a global tournament that some might be tempted into seeing them as the overall best side in the bunch, or will it just be a dream only Morocco had but ultimately fell short as reality set back in?

There is no doubt that the North African side was by far the most entertaining in the tournament. They played a part in creating the most shocks in the tournament, played in all manner of games, and even managed to be triumphant in some of them.

They played the extra time and won on penalties against the European side, Spain, they held on to a slender 1-0 score-line in first-half to successfully dispatch Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal side from the tournament.

Prior to the game against France, no opposition player had managed a goal against Morocco, and it only took the Atlas Lions having a new backline of defenders to change that narrative as we witnessed minor errors being committed by the Moroccan backline.

That being said, nothing should be taken away from the North African side as they came into the tournament and made a historical mark to inspire Africa as a whole, but is this, the last we would see of them?

Of the current crop of players? Perhaps yes, considering a few of their key players are clocking the decline ages of 29-30 and before the next world cup tournament comes into play, their form would have declined.

Most of the starting defenders, midfielders, and striker Youssef En-Nesyri are all in their early-to-mid 20s, but the older key players like Ziyech (29), Boufal (29), Bono (31), and Romain Saiss (32) can only be among the stars of the next Africa Cup of Nations in January 2024 but it’s far to think they will be main stars in 2026.

But as an inspiration to other coming generations of players, it remains to be seen.

For now, Morocco had a dream and the world sings its ballad.