image copyrightGetty Images
photo comment,
The coach of the Moroccan women’s national team with his team’s players after qualifying for the eighth round at the expense of Germany.
Article informationAuthor, Emma SmithRole, BBC Sport
2 hours ago
After beating Colombia with a goal without a response, thanks to Anissa Lahmari, with a rebound from a penalty kick missed by Ghazlan Shabak, the Moroccan national team gathered around a phone in Perth Stadium to follow the last minutes of the Germany-South Korea match, which ended in a positive draw, one goal for one, which granted qualification to the Lionesses.
As soon as the match ended, the players exploded with joy after achieving a historic achievement, which is qualifying for the World Cup final eight for the first time and from their first participation in the tournament.
It is the only team that managed to do so among the eight teams that participated for the first time in the World Cup.
This comes in the wake of the faltering start of the Atlas Lionesses, after they were defeated by the German women with six unanswered goals.
The success achieved by Moroccan sports comes after years of investment in women’s football, which has embarrassed many other countries in this tournament.
Everything is available to achieve the desired
image copyrightGetty Images
photo comment,
Anissa Lahmari scored the only goal against Colombia after saving a penalty kick from Ghezlane Shbeak
Since 2009, when Morocco’s new football academy was inaugurated with the aim of training world-class players, the country – under the leadership of Morocco’s King Mohammed VI – has placed a heavy emphasis on the women’s game.
In 2019, the $65 million King Mohammed VI Training Complex opened near the capital, Rabat, which houses men’s and women’s teams at the senior and junior levels. It features eight full-size pitches, five-a-side and beach soccer fields, a gym and medical facilities, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, classrooms and a 5-star hotel.
In August 2020, the National Women’s League turned professional. To achieve these goals, the women’s football budget has been raised to $65 million, a tenfold increase.
“We are very proud of what we have been able to do. We are happy with this achievement, and we dedicate this victory to the Moroccan people and the king,” Lahmari said after the victory over Colombia.
With this achievement, Morocco becomes a global football power, after the extraordinary achievements of the men’s team in Qatar last year by qualifying for the semi-finals.
Similar to the men’s team that recorded a historic achievement in Qatar – they were the first African and Arab team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup, the women intend to repeat the achievement in the upcoming meeting with France in the round of 16 and qualify for the quarter-finals.
But coach Renald Pedros, despite his pride in this achievement, is not yet satisfied.
“All these players are proud to wear this jersey. They redouble their efforts because they love their country and their efforts are paying off,” says Pedros.
“We will not stop here, we need to see progress. Everything is there for us to achieve more.”
France match in particular:
image copyrightGetty Images
photo comment,
French coach Hervé Renard previously coached the Moroccan men’s national team
The match against France has a peculiarity with regard to the coaches together, as the Lionesses coach will be facing his country’s national team, which he previously coached, while the French women’s coach, Hervé Renard, will be facing the Moroccan national team, who previously trained his men’s team and led them to the World Cup in 2018.
“It’s very special that France is next,” Pedro said.
“It will be a very difficult game, but if we keep the same mentality we hope we can move on.”
“We will do our best to move to the next stage, our aim is not to stop now, we need to move on. We will celebrate a bit and then go to Adelaide tomorrow to continue the work.”
Regardless of the outcome with France, the lionesses achieved a historic and important achievement in the Women’s World Championship, which witnessed many surprises.
As three teams strongly nominated to win the title came out of the group stage, knowing that they are ranked among the top ten in the FIFA classification, they are Germany, Canada and Brazil, while six teams outside the list of the top twenty – including Morocco – qualified for the second round.
“This World Cup is amazing! Lots of great matches and that’s what the sport is about,” said Pedro.
Our first defeat against Germany made many people think we were finished, but we knew we could do something and that’s what happened.”
“We qualified for the next round because we deserve it,” the Lionesses coach added.
2023-08-04 15:27:49
#Womens #World #Cup #achievement #Lionesses #Morocco #years #work #sports #investment #BBC #News #Arabic
