In the Netherlands the country’s World Cup last-32 tie against Morocco was always going to be about more than football. When the Atlas Lions dumped Ronald Koeman’s team out of the tournament in a penalty shootout after an epic contest, joyous 6am celebrations were sparked among the Moroccan community in Amsterdam. In The Hague, on the other hand, the atmosphere turned grim.
Approximately 440,000 people of Moroccan descent live in the Netherlands, and approximately 440,000 of them were asked the same question before this game: “So who will you support, then?”