AL KHOR, Qatar — At the final whistle, Morocco coach Walid Regragui embraced his opposite number, France boss Didier Deschamps, who had just guided Les Bleus to a second consecutive World Cup final. Regragui gathered his group of bruised and spent players after Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat into a huddle in the middle of the pitch and, after a brief speech, guided them towards the stand behind one of the goals, turned blood-red by the jerseys and flags of the overwhelmingly Morocco-supporting — but not necessarily Moroccan — crowd.
Almost as one, they bowed to their supporters. Not like concert pianists after a performance, but on all fours, heads down, appearing to kiss the ground of Al Bayt Stadium. It felt solemn. It felt genuine. And the crowd roared mightily in approval. Not even the stadium DJs ill-advised choice of blasting Gala’s “Freed from Desire” and segueing into an awful version of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” could spoil the moment.
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You may think their run at the World Cup had ended. Technically, you’d be right — although they play the third-place consolation match against Croatia on Saturday. Emotionally, you’d be wrong. Because the feeling doesn’t end here. It felt more like a beginning. And it’s not just about Morocco, it’s about the beginnings of a world order being upended. Or maybe just the hope, the vibe, that the perennial blue bloods who have hegemonized the sport for nearly a century may leave room for somebody else.
