As I see it | Why Morocco and Croatia’s Luka Modric are the real winners of the Qatar World Cup

Morocco made World Cup history by becoming the first Arab nation, and first African side to reach the semi-finals of the tournament

Croatia, a country born out of the Yugoslav wars, with a population of 4 million, continues to punch above its weight on the global football stage

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Croatia midfielder Luka Modric greets the crowd before being substituted during a match at the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Photo: AP/File

Published: 9:00am, 16 Dec 2022

Who doesn’t like a good underdog story?

Morocco and Croatia sadly did not make it to Sunday’s Fifa World Cup final in Qatar, but the two teams’ stunning performance may well be what is best remembered about this edition of the tournament – rather than the eventual victor.

Morocco’s achievement of reaching the semi-finals, and the significance of that for the Arab world, has been copiously discussed.

In the first World Cup held in an Arab country, breakout star Sofyan Amrabat and the mostly foreign-born Atlas Lions won supporters from around the world as they became the first Arab team to reach the quarter-finals and the first African team to reach the semis.

Sofyan Amrabat of Morocco in action during the Fifa World Cup 2022 quarter final soccer match between Morocco and Portugal. Photo: EPA-EFE

It’s not just the Global South that has become enamoured with the Moroccan team. French President Emmanuel Macron, who attended Wednesday’s Morocco vs France semi-finals, reportedly went into the Moroccan team’s dressing room after the match to fete Amrabat as “the best midfielder” in the tournament.

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.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}As I see it | Why Morocco and Croatia’s Luka Modric are the real winners of the Qatar World Cup

As I see it | Why Morocco and Croatia’s Luka Modric are the real winners of the Qatar World Cup