Moroccans celebrated the historic victory spectacularly in different parts of Spain.
22:16•Updated 22:17
MALAGA. – Better not to ask anything. It was absolutely terrible.
The couple watching the World Cup quarter-final in front of a Malaga beer restaurant summed up the feelings of many Spanish supporters after Tuesday’s match.
Morocco created a sensation at the World Cup in Qatar by toppling the football power after Spain’s penalty shootout. It is the first time in Moroccan football history that the national team made it to the quarterfinals. Falling to Spain, which was even planned as a potential world champion in advance, was again a big shock at this stage.
Luis Enrique’s the group he piloted received plenty of towels from both passionate supporters of football and the Spanish media. Spain’s stylish 7-0 victory over Costa Rica in the opening match made La Roja fans expect big things, but after that, the national team’s World Cup performances left a bitter taste for the Spaniards.
One of the country’s most significant sports media Marca (you switch to another service) called the result a fiasco for a mediocre team. Also head coach Luis Enrique’s tactics and game philosophy has been beaten (you switch to another service) with a heavy hand.
Tuesday’s match against Morocco was watched with special interest in Spain. About 900,000 Moroccans live in the country, a large part of them in southern Spain.
The Spanish authorities had stepped up security measures in the country’s big cities in advance and appealed to supporters so that the football celebration would not get out of hand. The fear was that the streets of big cities would have the same kind of unrest as in Brussels a little over a week ago, when Morocco beat Belgium in the opening group of the World Cup. At that time, supporters of Morocco and Belgium clashed with each other and with the police.
In the central area of Malaga, Spain’s sixth largest city, with just under 600,000 inhabitants, fans of Morocco and Spain could be seen side by side, but the match was mostly watched in good spirits.
– My best friend is Spanish, so this evening was special for both of us. The match was great, Moroccan supporter living in Malaga Hiccup told Urheilu.
– I have never been so proud of my country. We just made history. We will tell about this day to our children and future generations, he said.
After the game, the streets of downtown Malaga were filled with wildly celebrating Moroccans. According to the Spanish media, similar joy was also seen in other cities of the country. La Vanguardia (you will switch to another service) reported that 2,000 Moroccans celebrated the historic victory in downtown Barcelona.
December 6th is Constitution Day and a national holiday in Spain, so many had been preparing for the match all day. The expected football night ended in the most bitter way possible.