Fifa World Cup 2023: Morocco’s reaction as they knockout Alex Popp and tournament favourite’s Germany

Morocco beat Colombia 1-0 to reach the Women’s World Cup knockout stages and in doing so have ensured that tournament favourites Germany will not reach the last 16 of the competition.

Morocco’s opening World Cup fixture started with a horrifying 6-0 defeat at the hands of Germany but they have since been able to bounce back, scoring their first ever World Cup goal against South Korea in a 1-0 win before beating the South American side Colombia earlier today (Thursday 3 August).

Meanwhile, Germany, who reached the finals of the European Championships last summer and are ranked second behind the USA in the FIFA standings, will not proceed to the knockout rounds of the tournament after failing to win against bottom of the group South Korea. They now follow the same fate as their men’s team in Qatar who were also unable to progress while Morocco will hope to emulate their male counterparts’ success who reached the semi-final of the Qatari World Cup.

Following their 1-0 win over Colombia, with Anissa Lahmari scoring in the 45+4th minute, Morocco were forced to wait until the final whistle over in Brisbane, where Germany were drawing against South Korea, in order to secure their fate.

The players huddled and prayed together in hope that their 1-0 victory would be enough and as the final whistle was blown, the Moroccan stars produced an “eruption of emotion” as they ran the pitch, hugging all those close to them with head coach Reynald Pedros visibly emotional and speechless.

Morocco - ranked 72nd in the FIFA rankings - have, however, not just created history at this tournament by securing their first-ever win at a World Cup, but they have also hit the headlines from promoting inclusivity and breaking barriers.

Morocco are the first team from the North Africa and Middle East (MENA) region to qualify for the Fifa Women’s World Cup and Nouhaila Benzina, a defender both for ASFAR and her national team, became the first female player to ever wear a hijab at a World Cup.

Morocco will now face France in their last 16 fixture which will be played at 12pm BST on Tuesday 8 August. The broadcasting is yet to be confirmed but will be available to watch in the UK through either BBC or ITV.