a France-Morocco for history – Liberation

Wednesday’s fixture tells a story of immigration and colonization in each individual’s journey, which makes this football clash so symbolic and historic.

Leïla Slimani tells in JDD his passion for football and for the Moroccan team in an extraordinary forum. And to specify: “Morocco remains my favorite team, but I’d be happy if France won.” Well, while I still agree with you… I would change the order, and end with: “I would be happy if Morocco won” (Wishing the victory of the Blues of course…). The history of our two countries is so linked that these statements are in fact obvious. But it’s not just the political history of our countries that is linked, it’s also the sporting history and above all that of France that makes Wednesday night’s match an extraordinary match.

A little background to understand how “historic” this game is. If this meeting is the first in the competition, the friendlies have marked the football relations of the two countries: three victories, a draw and another won by Morocco on penalties.

Whistles at the time of The Marseillaise

In 2007, another match was marred by “accidents”. While the Moroccan team was coached by Frenchman Henri Michel, they managed to draw 2-2, but the start of the match was marred by boos at the moment of The Marseillaise… recalling the context in 2001 and another “political” match between Algeria and France. Faced with these boos, some French players reacted on the spot. Lilian Thuram, France’s captain that evening, looks on