16 years ago, a Moroccan footballer dreamed of the “Atlas Lions” team reaching the semi-finals, and then the final of the World Cup, and in 2022 this dream came incredibly close to realisation.
Even though the events of this dream have come Moroccan cinemaHe presented the year 2006, the year Morocco failed even to qualify for the World Cup in Germany, but was able, it seems, to predict what would happen at the World Cup in Qatar after the national team had been to the appointment with a semi-final match already on the field.
The story of the film “Wake Up Morocco” by Moroccan director Nargess Al-Najjar revolves around a former footballer, played by actor Hassan Skali, who dreams that Morocco will organize the World Cup and that the national team will reach the final, amid massive public celebrations .
It is also notable that the film stars Morocco’s current manager, Walid Regragui, who was part of the squad’s squad for the semi-final.
With the real semi-final against France approaching next Wednesday, the director and writer of the film, Narges Al-Najjar, wrote in his Instagram account: “18 years ago, I dreamed of this victory for Morocco. 18 years ago, I directed a film in which Walid Regragui participated.. I always knew my country could do anything.”
Al-Najjar, born in 1971 in Tangier, Morocco, is a director and screenwriter who lives in France, where she continued her studies and wrote and directed numerous films.
The “Atlas Lions” are now waiting for just one victory, against the French national team, to reach the final, and two victories to crown the Cup in Qatar and perform a spherical “miracle” that no one could have imagined before Qatar’s World Cup victory.
The ‘Atlas Lions’ beat Belgium 2-0 and Canada 2-1 in the group stage, then defeated Spain 3-0 on penalties in the round of 16, before earning a surprise victory over Portugal in the quarter-final the final. The team’s goal has not been shaken so far during the tournament, with only one goal, coming via ‘friendly fire’.
Morocco became the first African and Arab team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1930.
