Doha (AFP)
For Saudi Arabia and Tunisia to achieve two stunning victories in the group stage of the Qatar World Cup over Argentina, the champion, Lionel Messi, and defending champions France, and for Morocco to achieve a historic achievement as the first African or Arab team to reach the semi-finals. This did not come out of nowhere, but thanks to stars who left their mark in the finals of the second edition. twentieth.
Despite their differences in many matters, none of the Arabs can deny Sofiane Amrabat his main role in leading Morocco to the historic achievement.
And when Amrabat ran from the middle of the field to catch up with the fastest player in the French world, Kylian Mbappe, during the semi-final match, reach him and snatch the ball from him, he did not run with his feet, but rather ran with a brave heart trying to preserve the historical story of the “Atlas Lions” team in this World Cup.
Morocco eventually lost the match 0-2, but Amrabat earned a place among the best midfielders in the finals.
Since the beginning of the World Cup, Amrabat did not leave a place on the field without being present in it. He supported the defense a lot, cut and snatched balls from the players of the competing teams, “cleaned” the area in front of the four-line defense and formed a link between the defense and the attack and confirmed his presence in the attack by supplying his colleagues with elaborate balls for scoring.
His continuous brilliance increased the interest of senior clubs in the old continent in his services, most notably Liverpool, according to press reports.
Amrabat played the “epic” match in the final price against Spain, “with an injection for back pain that kept him awake until three o’clock in the morning on the night of the match.”
He commented, “I cannot abandon the players and my country.”
No one disagrees that Ashraf Hakimi and Hakim Ziyech are the center of gravity in Morocco due to their European status, but the Qatari World Cup also presented another Moroccan star alongside Amrabat, Azzedine Onahi, this “local product with international qualifications,” according to the description of his coach, Walid Rekraki. The French player Angers played a vital role in Morocco’s historical career, but unlike most players, the 22-year-old was founded as a football player in the local Mohammed VI Academy, and “this is a great pride for Moroccan football and a response to the promoters of the idea that Moroccan players stand out thanks to their training in European schools,” according to him. reggae. Praise poured in on all sides, most notably from Spain coach Luis Enrique, whose former team Barcelona showed interest in contracting with the promising Moroccan, according to the Spanish newspaper “Mundo Deportivo”.
Enrique, who was sacked immediately after the exclusion, said that the player he liked the most was “the player with the number 8 who played in an amazing way and did not stop running,” adding that he spoke with his coaching staff about him and was surprised by his level.
Muhammad Kno’s dream of being in the World Cup for the second time almost ended due to the struggle over him by Al-Hilal and Al-Nasr, who succeeded in obtaining his signature in a resounding deal, but the first soon managed to convince him Kno to renew his contract, so that the player would be subject to disciplinary penalties by suspending him for 4 months and fining him. 12 million riyals and obligating him to return the amount of 27 million riyals to Al-Nassr and depriving Al-Hilal of contracting with players in two registration periods.
Despite the suspension that Kno was subjected to, he maintained his well-known level, and was not affected by the controversial situation that accompanied him during the summer period, so the Qatar World Cup began with a thunderbolt that he contributed to in making it at the expense of Lionel Messi and his companions in the Argentine national team (2-1).
The 28-year-old midfielder presented his credentials as one of the best players in the axis in Qatar, and drew attention to him after the distinguished level he presented with Al-Akhdar against Argentina and Poland in the first two matches in the World Cup. Muhammad Kno was widely praised, whether by the Saudi and Arab fans, or from foreign newspapers, after the prominent role he played against Argentina (2-1) and his success in leading the Saudi midfield in defense and attack.
But the adventure of the tall player (1.92 m), who possesses high skills, made the French coach Herve Renard rely on him as one of the main elements in the Green Falcons battalion, ended at the hands of Mexico, who inflicted a second defeat on Saudi Arabia and ended their career in the first round.
At the first round, Tunisia’s journey also ended, but the “Carthage Eagles” refused to bid farewell to Qatar without a historic result, which they achieved in the last round at the expense of defending champion France (1-0).
Tunisia’s chances of qualifying since the second round have diminished by losing to Australia 0-1 after a promising opening draw against Denmark 0-0, but it presented a combative player in the person of Issa Al-Aidouni, who is proud of his Algerian roots and at the same time his affiliation with the Tunisian national team.
Voices rose in Algeria, criticizing the failure to include the Hungarian star Ferencváros in the ranks of the “Desert Warriors” team, while Tunisian newspapers praised Al-Aidouni’s performance thanks to his interceptions of the ball, his movements, and his guidance of his companions inside the green rectangle in the first round, which allowed him to win the player of the match award.
After the Denmark match, the 26-year-old said: “I am happy to participate in the World Cup, but the most important thing is the good result achieved by the national team, and after that comes the best player award.”
Al-Aidouni started the dream of participating in the world football festival in the colors of Tunisia, after it was an important equation in qualifying, to return the confidence that coach Munther Al-Kabir and after him Jalal Al-Qadri placed in him, so that observers describe him as the “iron man” who does not tire.
Al-Eidouni was born to an Algerian father and a Tunisian mother, so he became attached to the two countries and was associated with them, and after waiting for an explicit opportunity to join the “Desert Warriors”, he came from “Carthage Eagles” on March 19, 2021, to participate in the first international match on the 25th of it in the 2021 African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Libya.
He said at the time: “I received calls from the Tunisian Federation, but I hope to play for Algeria.”
The Algerian fans expressed their regret at missing the opportunity to benefit from the efforts of the midfielder, who has characteristics that the national team lacks, especially after the retirement of Adlan Guedioura.