Morocco’s head coach Walid Regragui has stated that his team’s step to the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup has been a result of hard work instead of luck or a miracle, as many people have called it.

The North African country became the first Arabian country and the first African side to make it to the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup after seeing off Portugal on Saturday.

Three previous African countries made it to the quarterfinals in previous editions, but Qatar 2022 is the first time any African country will break the glass ceiling of the quarterfinals.

Cameroon, Senegal, and Ghana got to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 1990, 2002, and 2010, respectively, but none was able to make it past that stage.

After progressing from a group that had Belgium, Canada, and Croatia, Morocco beat Spain in the round of 16 on penalties and Portugal in the quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory.

Regragui, who only became the head coach of the Moroccan national team in August, said that his players had given everything to get to the final four, beating some of the biggest teams in World football on the way.

“If you show passion, heart, and belief, you can succeed, and my players have shown that. It is not a miracle – those in Europe might say it is, but we have beaten Portugal, Spain, and Belgium and drawn against Croatia without conceding. That is the result of hard work.” Regragui stated.

The former Moroccan international source stated that his team is already getting loved worldwide, and they look forward to the semifinal clash against France on Wednesday.

France defeated England to win on Saturday to secure the semifinal Clash in the second semifinal Croatia and Argentina old gold face to face.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu