Sadness overshadowed the Moroccan national team fans after the 'Atlas Lions' loss to France in the World Cup quarterfinals, ending the team's World Cup journey. However, Moroccans affirmed their continued support for their team and pride in what the players achieved, expressing confidence in the Lions' ability to return strongly in the next edition of the World Cup and continue the dream of competing for the title.

The first half ended in a goalless draw, with the most notable event being Yassine Bounou's save of a penalty kick after French captain Kylian Mbappé was fouled in the penalty area by defender Noussair Mazraoui. Mbappé took the kick, but Bounou managed to catch the ball crawling to the left, a moment that thrilled fans and made them chant Bounou's name.

Bounou excelled in several instances where he saved the 'Atlas Lions' from certain goals, as the Saudi Al-Hilal goalkeeper skillfully neutralized the danger.

The French team controlled the atmosphere in the Moroccan half early in the match, but after the cooling break, the Moroccans held onto the ball and attempted several times to reach the French net, but to no avail.

Related News

The Lions maintained their defensive organization and managed to neutralize several French attacks from both flanks.

But France decided the match in the second half when Mbappé succeeded in opening the scoring after an hour of play, before setting up the second goal just six minutes later, passing to Ousmane Dembélé who slotted the ball into the net with a low shot to Bounou's left.

The Moroccan team was unable to overcome their French counterparts, losing by the same score as they did in the 2022 World Cup semifinal in Qatar.

After the match, footage showed Moroccan national team players in tears following the defeat, especially as they were aiming to surpass France and reach the final, and why not win the title.

Sky News Arabia spoke to a number of match followers in the fan zone in Agadir, south-central Morocco. They expressed regret over the Lions' loss despite the good performance they delivered, saying they had hoped to continue the journey in the World Cup held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and to repeat the achievement of the 2022 Qatar World Cup when Morocco became the first African and Arab team to reach the World Cup semifinals.

In this context, Nourredine, a young Moroccan wearing the red 'Lions' jersey, said he 'expected Morocco to qualify at the expense of the Roosters, but what happened happened. The players gave their all and reached the quarterfinals... no problem, we will try next time.'

Nourredine explained in his interview with Sky News Arabia that the performance of all players was good, whether Hakimi or Ibrahim Diaz, affirming his support for the Moroccan team despite the result.

Related News

For his part, Hicham said the match between Morocco and France was very good, but he questioned the penalty awarded to France, noting that Moroccan players performed well and added that French players are professionals and managed to pressure the Lions.

As for Mohamed, he said that France was the strongest favorite to advance to the World Cup semifinals, adding that the plan Mohamed Wahbi 'was 100% defensive, and we missed a striker to create danger and score goals.'

Mohamed explained in his interview with Sky News Arabia that 'France pressured Morocco, and you cannot play defensively the entire match and leave spaces in midfield, because France will exploit them to score goals, and that is what happened.'

Mohamed, comparing the match against France in the 2022 World Cup semifinal and this match, both ending with the same score, believed that the two matches were of equal strength and performance, although the Lions did not create enough opportunities in this match.