Behind the counter of his grocery store in the Goutte d’Or neighbourhood in northern Paris, Abdel was on a video call to his cousin in a village in the Atlas mountains. Morocco’s historic World Cup semi-final match against France on Wednesday was all they could talk about, and the mood could be summed up in one word, he said, shaking his shoulders: “Dancing!”
“It’s incredible to be the first ever African team in the semi-final. It’s only sport, but it’s bringing people together, from the grandparents to little kids,” he said.
