In a World Cup which has already seen several nations breaking their own records and setting new highs, Morocco joined in on Thursday to hit new heights in national team history.
Their final group stage game saw them triumph 2-1 over Canada to not just seal progression into the knockout stages in Qatar, but also finish top of the Group F quartet.
Nigeria, and the World Cup of France ‘98, was the last time an African nation managed to achieve that feat. A generation has passed since then, of players and of supporters and of heroes of the continent - and between that finals and these ones, Morocco had won precisely zero games at the World Cup.
To qualify at all from a group in which they were originally seen as third-favourites at best is a huge achievement; to have ended above both European rivals is a mark of enormous progression and also the togetherness and tactical cohesion the team has under Walid Regragui.
It is all the more remarkable given the head coach took over just a few months ago, replacing Vahid Halilhodzic and taking his first match only two months before the finals began. Half a dozen matches at the helm, and yet effectively taking the place in the knockouts of a team which has been largely the same - coaching staff and lineup - for half a dozen years, in Belgium.
The strength of the team has been precisely that: the team. They are well-drilled, organised defensively and extremely hard-working for each other.
Nobody exemplifies that more than Sofyan Amrabat, the holding midfielder who has been relentlessly covering behind Morocco’s marauding full-backs, expertly timing his tackles and intercepting any attempted build-up through the centre.
Admittedly, that build-up play was not always of the highest calibre. Perhaps Morocco’s fixture list happened to fall in the best possible way for them.
In the opener against Croatia, both teams were reluctant to overcommit, happy to produce the World Cup cliche of not losing your first game. They were evenly matched in terms of numbers in each part of the field, and nobody opted to risk much. A point earned, a tricky opponent navigated.
Then the bilge of Belgium. Morocco were cautious here too, until they realised Roberto Martinez’s team were the most overhyped, overrated and under-mobile team in the tournament. When that realisation struck, they simply overwhelmed the Red Devils. They were better team and won with relative ease.
And finally, Canada. They have been exciting and vibrant and certainly full of intent, but lacking in ultimate quality and, perhaps crucially, already out before this game. Morocco had the quality to put them to the sword by punishing defensive deficiencies and errors, thereby adding to their own record haul.
Like Australia before them, this victory marked the first time in World Cup history Morocco have won two games at the same tournament. Further, it puts them into the knockout phase for the first time in 36 years. Never before have they reached the last eight on this stage and they may never get a better chance to do so.
Their opponents in the round of 16 will be confirmed in the next few hours, but there’s every chance it could be Japan or even Costa Rica. They will fancy their chances against either and after beating Belgium, there’s no incredible reason they would fear Germany either, if they make it into second.
Defensive organisation even behind Amrabat has been a key part of their makeup - the only goal conceded in the group stage was a deflected own goal here against Canada - with clean sheets in the build-up to Qatar 2022 coming against Georgia, Paraguay, Chile and Liberia, a run stretching back to June.
Even so, their group stage was not without nervous moments; goalkeeper Yassine Bounou missed game two after pulling out of the line-up before kick-off, while in the final minutes against Canada, a shot bounced off the bar and off the line - inches away from knocking Morocco down to second place. But overall they have been extremely diligent and impressive at the back.
In the final third, matchwinners come in the form of a talented, though inconsistent, front three. So far they have fired; how long they can continue to do so might dictate how far the Atlas Lions can go.
Hakim Ziyech is the ringleader, with Achraf Hakimi zooming on from full-back in support. Between them, plus Sofiane Boufal and Youssef En-Nesyri, Morocco have enough creativity and ability to play direct to balance out the initial inclination to remain compact, resolute and competitive. Contrast that togetherness with the isolation and arguments shown within the Belgium camp, and you’ll find an easy answer as to the most important group characteristics in a major tournament.
Those three defensive traits alone would have seen them be better than two teams in Group F, while choosing the right moments to attack ensured they picked up the points to finish first.
This is already an historic and momentous occasion in Moroccan, indeed in African, football at World Cups.
The tears of Hakimi at full time showed as much. But there may yet be even more pages to fill out, records to rewrite and new legends to forge, if just one more victory falls their way.
