Morocco proved unable to emulate their semi-final heroics of the last World Cup, again running into a French roadblock as they lost in the last eight on Thursday, but as co-hosts of the next tournament will begin to reset their sights on the trophy.They had been beaten by France in the semi-final in Qatar four years ago and this time were again outplayed in a 2-0 win for Les Bleus in Boston.
But Morocco’s performances at the expanded 48-team tournament can be judged a success, becoming the first African nation to reach successive quarter-finals, eliminating the Netherlands and giving Brazil a scare in their opening game of the finals in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
There had been some doubts about how they might fare given a coaching change just three months before the final, but Mohamed Ouahbi made a seamless transition into the senior coach role from the junior ranks after leading Morocco to last year’s U-20 World Cup title.
Morocco will now look to the next World Cup with special attention. They will be co-hosting the 2030 finals with Portugal and Spain and are therefore already qualified.
“We have a young team who want to grow, who will continue to do so. We have talented players who will enable us to grow,” Ouahbi said after Thursday’s game.
