DOHA: It was early on in the game — his side trailing, his plan having backfired — that Walid Regragui paced on his touchline; apparently annoyed that Selim Amallah was taking so long in getting ready to come on. Morocco captain Romain Saiss had just been beaten for pace by Olivier Giroud, a striker who doesn’t show that attribute often. Luckily for Morocco’s history-makers, the first team from the African continent to have made it this far at a World Cup, Giroud’s shot had come off the post. They were still a goal behind, trailing to Theo Hernandez’s fifth-minute opener in the semi-final at the Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday night.

But Saiss, who had left Morocco’s quarter-final against Portugal in tears, indicated that he wouldn’t be able to go on. His left thigh was strapped, the indication of injury still evident. This time, there was just one tear in his eye as he walked off; probably knowing that this was as far as Morocco could come; that this was the ceiling. But Regragui and his charges didn’t think so. They came at France with everything they had but it was eventually not enough.

Another gamble by Regragui hadn’t paid off. Their other central defender, Nayef Aguerd who was also carrying an injury, came unstuck in the warm-up before the game. Regragui had opted for a five-man defensive line, including three centre-backs but when Amallah got on, Morocco reverted back to the formation that had carried them this far. They created chances but the final touch deserted them and when France got the second goal in the 79th, it was all over.

Their goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who had only been beaten once on their run to the semis — that too by one of his team-mates in Aguerd, said Morocco had reached the limit here.

“We faced a well-armed, very powerful team with players who play at a very high level,” Bounou told reporters. “We left everything, we reached the limit with many injured players and the truth is that all those who entered did very well and we couldn’t do it because football is like that. I think we competed well but it didn’t happen.”

Unlike their previous knockout matches against Spain and Portugal, here Morocco had more of the ball but the French held on.

“We found ourselves in a game that was different from the ones against Portugal or Spain,” said Bounou. “Instead of spending most of the time closer to our goal, it was the other way around but we just couldn’t get the goals.”

At the final whistle, Morocco’s players received a warm round of applause from thousands of Moroccans who had painted the Al Bayt red. Morocco’s road to the title had ended but they still have one more game to play; the third-place playoff against Croatia.

“We’re on our last legs,” rued Regragui, the 47-year-old who led this Moroccan brigade after being handed the job just three months prior to the World Cup. “These players have given a very good image for the team all over the world. They’ve showcased their quality. This was perhaps one step too far — not in quality or in our tactics but physically.”

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2022