After Spain was eliminated, Morocco entered the top 8 of the World Cup for the first time, becoming the fourth African team in history to finish in the top 8 of the World Cup. The last African team to finish in the top 8 of the World Cup was in 2010, when coach Regla Gueye became the first African coach to lead his team into the top 8 of the World Cup.
After the game, the entire Moroccan team celebrated wildly, with goalkeeper Bounou being exalted by the entire team. In addition, the Moroccan team knelt down to express their gratitude to the Moroccan fans for their support and cheering.
Perhaps many domestic fans are not familiar with this North African team and its presence in the World Cup is not high. According to statistics, the Moroccan men's soccer team played against the Chinese men's soccer team in the last century and won two consecutive matches (1 draw and 1 loss.) In 1977, Morocco was invited to China to participate in the tournament "The Great Wall Cup" and lost to the national football team in the end of 2-3, and then in 1982, Morocco was invited to participate in the tournament again, and drew 3-3.
Now 40 years later, the Chinese men's soccer team has become a third-rate Asian team, missing the World Cup finals for the 20th consecutive year. Morocco has risen to prominence in Africa, finishing in the top eight of the World Cup for the first time. The gap between the two teams is widening.
