5th if you count Western Sahara
African teams in Qatar
- Thread starter steve zizou
- Start date
I don't think these teams are good match up for them. But then again, the football they play works well in knockout competition.
Greece 2004 and this Morocco side are vastly different in their game play.
Fantastic to see an African side go far in the tournament. Hope they get through the next game, I think they will.
When did western Sahara ever play?
How? Same counter attacking, reactive football, with deep sitting defence. Great motivation and team spirit too.
They lost the final qualifier against Ghana.
All they needed was a home win in the 2 leg playoff and they would have qualified.
Cheeky
Western Sahara are currently part of Morocco, however they are disputed region and view themselves as an independent country.
Morocco shows more ambition in possession compared to that Greece team that were completely reactive/cynical.
Cheers!
So because of this post I just learned there is a thing called CONIFA for non-FIFA affiliated teams, where Western Sahara gets to take on the likes of Darfur, Tibet, Kurdistan, and Macau.
Oh man, I bet Darfur are the best heading team.
I didn't mean it to I swear!
I was referring to the general height of people from that area of east Africa...I thought you meant beheadingsI didn't mean it to I swear!
Agree, feck Greece that year. That was the only major tournament thus far in my decades watching football where a thoroughly undeserving side went all the way.
Morocco to the semi finals would be epic.
I know! I realised the moment I posted itI thought you meant beheadings
He's returned to his coaching position at Dortmund. Chris Hughton probably favourite for the job now. Ghana has probably crop of players at it's disposal since 2010. We have enough talent to complete against anyone on world stage but we've always been bottlers. Both of this was clear to see at the World Cup.
Hughtons strengths have always been being setting up teams for results and that is pretty much Ghana's biggest weakness so could be a good marriage - We have enough individual attacking talent to counter his defensive approach.
I've always lamented how both Ghana and Ivory Coast when at their peaks were always drawn in group of deaths at the World Cup but were competitive throughout. While the weaker African teams got easier groups and pissed them away. Ghana's opponents in group stage have been 2006: Italy, Czech Rep, USA; 2010: Germany, Serbia, Australia; 2014: Germany, Portugal, USA; 2022: Portugal, Uruguay, South Korea.
Fact that they got out 2 out them 4 groups and were a 1pt away from making it 3/4 is impressive itself.
Think a Ronaldo less Portugal will be too much for Morocco, who'll be pretty exhausted too
Thanks. I'm glad that at least Morocco are still left in it. I'd love to see an African team win it.
That would also mean an African team in semis for 1st time so you're right. But don't think they can cause another upset unfortunately.
Morocco played the right way to beat that tedious Spanish system. But they need something different for the game against Portugal. I'd like to see more from their attackers. Boufal was great, but En-Nesyri barely figured and the sub was a bit of a donkey. They surely can't hold out Portugal for 120 minutes.
If he pulls some strings and gets himself back in the team Morocco may have a chance
They'll lose if they play like they did against Spain. It would have worked if Ronaldo was a starter but after tonight, it's out of question. I think that the moroccan manager is now aware of that.
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Morocco cannot start number 21 player.. Is he related to that Belgium donkey ? both of them can't score even if their life depended on it.
Cheddira is not a starter (has never scored an international goal) but as I said since page 1 of this thread Morocco are severely lacking upfront with not much on the bench
The biggest worry for Morocco is that both their CBs got injured, if they are not available for Portugal then they don't have much chance
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Same here. But it's probably 2 decades away.
World Cup 2022: Could Morocco win for Africa?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-63885646
our series of letters from African journalists, Maher Mezahi looks at Africa's chances of winning the football World Cup, finally fulfilling Pele's prediction.
The world's biggest party took place at Education City stadium in Doha on Tuesday night when Morocco upset Spain in the 2022 Fifa World Cup round of 16.
The vast majority of the 44,000-strong crowd was overwhelmed by emotion after Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi sealed victory with a cheeky panenka penalty kick.
Moroccans poured out into the streets of Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakesh, and practically every capital city in Western Europe to celebrate.
Even King Mohamed VI joined the jubilant crowds.
After the team danced, hugged and cried in the dressing room, coach Walid Regragui made an extremely important declaration in his post-match press conference.
"At some point in Africa, we have to be ambitious and why not win the World Cup, even if it's going to be hard," he said.
The declaration was a sign of a paradigm shift in how African nations approach the World Cup, and it is fitting that it came from Regragui, who represents a paradigm-shift in African coaching.
Not only did he cut his teeth on the continent, spending his formative years coaching domestic football in Morocco, he is also part of the inaugural Caf Pro Licence class of 2018 - the very first group of coaches who secured football's highest coaching diploma entirely on the continent.
He represents everything that is right in African football: He's young, competent, cosmopolitan, fearless and a pan-Africanist at heart.
Morocco's head coach Walid Regragui has been a huge inspiration to his team
Senegal's Aliou Cissé, Algeria's Djamel Belmadi, Tunisia's Radhi Jaidi and South Africa's Benni McCarthy are other examples of the new African coaching prototype.
It is no coincidence that the 2022 World Cup was the first time all five African nations had African coaches to lead them.
But is Regragui right? Should Africa be asking itself if it can win a World Cup?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-63885646
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-63885646
our series of letters from African journalists, Maher Mezahi looks at Africa's chances of winning the football World Cup, finally fulfilling Pele's prediction.
The world's biggest party took place at Education City stadium in Doha on Tuesday night when Morocco upset Spain in the 2022 Fifa World Cup round of 16.
The vast majority of the 44,000-strong crowd was overwhelmed by emotion after Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi sealed victory with a cheeky panenka penalty kick.
Moroccans poured out into the streets of Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakesh, and practically every capital city in Western Europe to celebrate.
Even King Mohamed VI joined the jubilant crowds.
After the team danced, hugged and cried in the dressing room, coach Walid Regragui made an extremely important declaration in his post-match press conference.
"At some point in Africa, we have to be ambitious and why not win the World Cup, even if it's going to be hard," he said.
The declaration was a sign of a paradigm shift in how African nations approach the World Cup, and it is fitting that it came from Regragui, who represents a paradigm-shift in African coaching.
Not only did he cut his teeth on the continent, spending his formative years coaching domestic football in Morocco, he is also part of the inaugural Caf Pro Licence class of 2018 - the very first group of coaches who secured football's highest coaching diploma entirely on the continent.
He represents everything that is right in African football: He's young, competent, cosmopolitan, fearless and a pan-Africanist at heart.
Morocco's head coach Walid Regragui has been a huge inspiration to his team
Senegal's Aliou Cissé, Algeria's Djamel Belmadi, Tunisia's Radhi Jaidi and South Africa's Benni McCarthy are other examples of the new African coaching prototype.
It is no coincidence that the 2022 World Cup was the first time all five African nations had African coaches to lead them.
But is Regragui right? Should Africa be asking itself if it can win a World Cup?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-63885646
THIS TIME FOR AFRICA!
Morroco becomes the first African team to reach WC semis, unbelievable.
Well done Morocco.
Thread lives on!!!
Thread lives on!!!
@Cal? are you watching? Hope you're good wherever you are
They didn't start him but now he's ensured they can't play him at all next game
Disappointed in Portugal, but doesn’t change anything regarding CAF being allocated too many spots next time
LETS GO!!!