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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Matthew Lindsay

How Morocco turned to their migrants and mothers and became a major World Cup force

Ismael Saibari celebrates scoring for Morocco against Brazil on Saturday night (Image: PA)

Morocco fans were unable to disguise their disbelief or contain their delight during the World Cup four years ago as their unheralded national team, who had only reached the knockout rounds once before, overcame Belgium, Spain and Portugal and got through to the semi-finals.

But as the Atlas Lions prepared to grace the tournament finals once again, nobody in Casablanca was saying, “We’ll always have Qatar 2022.”

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