The Moroccan authorities, in various cities of the country, are continuing preparations to welcome the crowds of fans who will follow the Morocco-France match into the streets and squares.
Local authorities have installed giant screens in the most important squares and streets of major cities, to allow Moroccans to follow the most important match played by their national team in its history, when they meet the French national team in the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar.
And officials from several regions and regions of Morocco began a few days ago to look for large screens to be installed in public spaces, to facilitate public following of the decisive match which takes place on Wednesday evening, according to the website . Expressed The local.
According to the same source, the local authorities have stepped up preparations to organize this “football wedding”, signing contracts with companies specializing in the equipment rental sector and organizing parties to allow them to have giant screens to broadcast the matches.
The authorities have issued instructions to provide security personnel, auxiliary forces and men from local authorities, to ensure that the atmosphere after the match runs smoothly and to prevent some fans from leaving the peaceful cheering circle, according to the same source.
In France, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced on Tuesday the deployment of 10,000 police across France, including 5,000 in Paris, in preparation for the France-Morocco match.
Darmanin added that the Champs-Elysees avenue will not be closed to traffic, despite a request from the district mayor.
However, the minister indicated that as of 18:30 on Tuesday, most of the gates on the ring road surrounding Paris, as well as many train and metro stations, will be closed.
Morocco’s progress into the World Cup finals has seen raucous celebrations from its fans in cities with large numbers of Moroccan immigrants around the world, including the French capital, Paris.
Morocco’s victory over Belgium in the group stage sparked riots in Brussels and video footage showed fans lighting fireworks and throwing furniture and other objects in central Milan.
And the Italian police announced, a few days ago, that they had arrested 13 far-right activists in Verona, on charges of assaulting Moroccan fans who were celebrating their country’s historic qualification for the quarter-finals of the World Cup, after beating Spain.
showdown
And the “Atlas Lions” will face, tonight, Wednesday, the French national team, in the draw for the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup, having created a big surprise, after getting through the first group which included Belgium, Canada and Croatia, and beating Spain in the final price and Cristiano Ronaldo’s companions in the quarterfinals. .
Morocco need a black roar to continue their fictionalized World Cup story in Qatar when Wednesday at Al Khor’s Al Bayt Stadium they meet star-studded defending champions France in the first ever semi-final to be challenged by a African or Arab country.
And the “Lions of the Atlas” are living a dream that Africans and Arabs have drawn on, and every country that has no self-confidence in competing with adults, and if it misses the 1998 and 2018 champions, will set a date in the final Sunday with Argentina, “the flea” Lionel Messi, who qualified on Tuesday, easily at the expense of Croatia 3-0.
Morocco started the tournament on a positive note when they drew poorly with last season’s runners-up Croatia and have since achieved victories that their players or the people of the country on the periphery of the European continent could not dream of.
The Moroccan national team defeated Belgium for the third World Cup 2018 with two goals to nil, then Canada with two goals to one, then strong Spain with a penalty shootout in the final price, up to Portugal, a candidate to compete with a goal for free.
“Progressive Glaucoma Benefits”
But the opponent is different this time, as the French team, in turn, presents an upward performance that makes them a natural candidate to overcome Morocco in the first official meeting between them in a major tournament.
Rarely has a champion retained their title after four years, the last of which was Brazil’s Pelé in 1962, but France, with their expert coach Didier Deschamps, overcame all obstacles to reach the semi-finals.
It is hard to imagine that an injury-free team, players like forward Karim Benzema, the best player in the world, midfielders N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba, full-back Luca Hernandez, forward Christopher Nkunku, defender Prisnel Kimpembe and goalkeeper Mike Mignan, doesn’t seem at all impressed and gets win after win.
The French national team qualified for the second round, after two wins against Australia 4-1 and Denmark 2-1, before losing to Tunisia by one goal in the reserves.
In the playoffs, he stalled with an easy 3-1 win over Poland, before overcoming the more difficult forehand against their powerhouse neighbors England 2-1.
Once again, Kylian Mbappé appears to be the most dangerous element of the “blue” squad, with five goals at the top of the scoring charts, tied with Messi, and behind them striker Olivier Giroud, an amateur to score goals from difficult and sometimes impossible positions, while there are doubts about the participation of defender Daewoo Obamecano and midfielder Adrien Rabiot due to injury.
However, the “Moroccan dream” is capable of changing many equations, including the French plan, if the success factors are available to the players of coach Walid Rekragui, who has implanted the mentality of winning in his players’ heads and not confronting each other with the “giants” of the game without inferiority.
“If we keep in mind that our participation is successful by reaching the semi-finals and we are happy, we will not continue our journey. We are among the four best teams in the world, and it is no coincidence, and we will have it said tomorrow for the final.
“Find the solution”
On the other hand, Deschamps, who seeks to be crowned in the World Cup for a third time after 1998 as a player and 2018 as a manager, looked calm before facing an unusual team, his spirit reaching the clouds qualifies him to fight any opponent, even if it included the likes of Mbappé, Jiro, Antoine Griezmann, Osman Dembélé and others… “We will find a solution, but this (Moroccan) team has the ability to defend very well.”
A defense that has only been shaken once in five matches, and that came with a bicycle kick goal from Nayef Akrad in the match against Canada.
Ironically, Akrad could miss the semi-finals with injury which has kept him out of Portugal’s quarter-final and Tuesday exercises, to which full-back Naseer Mazraoui and defense captain Roman Sayes have returned.
Injuries, rather than getting the Moroccans banned, opened the door for the brilliance of wide substitutes, similar to Jawad Al-Yamiq and Yahya Atiyatallah.
Morocco are counting on their “twelfth player”, who could play an important role on their way to the final: the waves of Rossoneri fans to support him have been the most heated of the tournament with Argentine fans, given the large community that supports him in Qatar , as well as the start of 30 flights between Casablanca and Doha, supporting Hakim Ziyech, Ashraf Hakimi and Youssef Al-Nusairi, the hero of the winning goal against Portugal.
French goalkeeper Loris feared “hostile fans in a stadium that can seat around seventy thousand spectators”, as French police prepare for riots that could accompany the match in various cities, but this match “full of symbols”, according to the newspaper La Provence , must “remain a match”. Football, even if it is linked to history, and has a lot of passion,” according to Deschamps.
