Boston, United States – Less than 24 hours before the first quarterfinal of the World Cup between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium, the official FIFA fan zone in the host city was dismantled and shut down. But then the Moroccans arrived.
With their red shirts and red-and-green flags, Morocco's supporters could be spotted in small groups all over downtown Boston from early afternoon. Traveling from their home country, within the US and the rest of the world, the fans have descended upon the city with a belief that Morocco will win the World Cup.
“We truly believe in this team, and we back them to avenge the pain of 2022,” Ismael Chaouie, who has traveled from Casablanca to support his team, told Al Jazeera. Morocco began their 2026 tournament journey with an impressive 1-1 draw against Brazil, then beat Scotland and Haiti, edged out the Netherlands in a penalty shootout, and thumped Canada in the last 16.
For the fans, the prospect of facing France superstar Kylian Mbappe and co might be daunting, but it has not deterred them from claiming their team could still win. Abdur Rahim, a US-based Morocco fan, thinks the current team is better organized and their coach is tactically more astute than their 2022 counterparts.
The African giants were dealt a big blow when coach Mohamed Ouahabi confirmed that striker Ismael Saibari will miss the quarterfinal due to an ongoing hamstring injury. However, Rahim believes it could be a cheeky move on the part of the coach to keep the French guessing.
As the sun set, a crowd gathered in Boston Common for a pre-match party. One fan held a placard reading “FIFA, keep it fair. Morocco will do the rest.” Saeed Kuhail, the fan, said he was worried about refereeing decisions after the VAR controversy in the Argentina-Egypt game and the 2022 France-Morocco match where a penalty was not given.
While Morocco's red could be seen in most parts of Boston, French fans were peculiar in their absence. Impromptu fireworks, dance-offs in the street and a seemingly never-ending Moroccan party made passers-by stop to film the fans or join them. It took an hour of noisy celebrations and at least five Boston Police cars to end the celebrations for the night. Should the Atlas Lions beat the tournament favorites on Thursday, the singing, dancing and roaring will be much louder and last way longer.
Source: www.aljazeera.com