MOROCCO’S Atlas Lionesses made history this week by qualifying for the Women’s World Cup round-of-16 at the first time of asking.
And they did so in epic fashion, knocking two-time champions Germany out in the process.
The tournament debutants clinched a 1-0 win over Group H winners Columbia on Thursday, taking their points total up to six.
Meanwhile, Germany were held to a 1-1 draw by South Korea which left them third in the group on four points.
Morocco’s clash with Columbia finished a few minutes before the conclusion of Germany’s match, so the Atlas Lionesses were forced to wait to find out if they had progressed to the knockout stages.
The entire 23-woman squad and several members of staff gathered in the centre of the pitch to listen out for the other result.
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And when they finally found out that they had earned a spot in the round-of-16, everybody ran to celebrate.
While some people wheeled away in celebration, others fell to their knees in tears, overcome with emotion.
Morocco manager Reynald Pedros also broke down in tears when the result was announced.
Many fans took to social media to react, with one person writing: “S**t like this is what makes the sport great.”
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Another added: “Doesn’t get any better than that! Congrats Morocco.”
While a third person commented: “THIS IS WHY FOOTBALL IS THE GREATEST SPORT IN THE WORLD!”
After the historic win, Pedros said: “To be the first Arab country to do this at the World Cup is exceptional. Tonight was absolutely fabulous.
“I think that the result [6-0 defeat] versus Germany was definitely because emotions were definitely overwhelming for us. And we didn’t manage to play the way we usually play.
“But we mobilised the players after, we helped them to be motivated again and we explain to them that it was the group stage, with two more games to play.
“We worked a lot and we got the ticket to have a small final somehow against Colombia.
“And we knew that if even if we were to beat Colombia, we would need Germany not to win against Korea. So at the end of the day, we didn’t really think about Germany, to be honest with you.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
