Morocco Tireless Legs Michael Olise Kylian Mbappe Fifa World Cup

. There is no subjective statistic to corroborate this, but eye test suggests no team has a more intimidating attacking quartet than France’s. Kylian Mbappe. Ousmane Dembele. Michael Olise. Desire Doue. How could Morocco relent the unrelenting in the impending quarter-final?

Turns out, Morocco’s greatest weapon against France is…France. They will be relying on three footballers shaped by the French system, each of whom either wore France’s colours, or harboured a desire to do so.

At the heart of the defence is Issa Diop. At only 21, barely weeks after moving to England, he repelled every attack in a game against Manchester United. Jose Mourinho could barely believe what he saw. “Congratulations to whoever scouted him. The kid is a monster!”

Diop was scouted by West Ham United after standout performances for France at the 2016 U-21 Euros — the very tournament that also offered the first glimpses of the brilliance of Kylian Mbappe. He had suitors — none more unrelenting than Senegal. A nation his father hailed from, and his grandfather had coached.

Diop was asked whether the suitors interested him. The reply was firm: “I will only play for France and for no one else. I was born in France, I owe everything to France, so why play for another country? Even if I am never selected, I will never play for another country.”

Nine years later, another U-21 Euros. Gérald Baticle’s squad, however, was missing the player he had earmarked for captaincy. Ayyoub Bouaddi. Lille refused to release their teenage prodigy. Asked about his allegiance, Bouaddi had said, “At the moment, I am in the French youth team. I feel good playing for France.”

Walid Regragui, the former Morocco coach, was on the brink of losing his patience ahead of the 2024 African Nations Championship. Neil El Aynaoui, son of former world No. 14 tennis player Younes El Aynaoui, repeatedly delayed Morocco’s advances, reluctant to close any doors.

“Neil has still asked for some time. But we will have to make a decision. If he doesn’t make it, I will be the one to make it for him. We won’t wait long,” said Regragui, insinuating he will close the Moroccan door on El Aynaoui soon, should he not make up his mind.

Toulouse. Senlis. Nancy. Three French cities. Three footballers, who now stand in the way of France’s third consecutive FIFA World Cup semi-final appearance.

Morocco advancing to the quarter-final is barely a surprise now. Their performance, however, has been at times. Canada — ranked 24 places behind — outshot Morocco, generated the better chances and, according to coach Jesse Marsch, deserved to win. The Atlas Lions were not convincing against the Netherlands either.

In fact, without Diop’s 91st-minute equaliser, they would have lost that game. But Diop’s influence extends far beyond that goal. At 6’4″, he consistently wins aerial duels, and is equally adept with ground tackles. Yet, defending is only a one-dimensional facet of a multi-dimensional player. Diop is the point of origin of Morocco’s attacks. Against Brazil and Canada, he attempted more line breaks than anyone else in the squad. Against Canada, he attempted 42 forward passes. His nearest competitor did 21.

Morocco have not out-dazzled teams in this competition, but outrun them, they have. Mohamed Ouahbi’s men have covered 597.2 kilometres so far, in comparison to their opponents’ 578.7. A delta of 3.7 km per game — enough to separate a winner from a loser at this level. At the heart of their lungs lie the pivot of Neil El Aynaoui and Ayyoub Bouaddi. Together, they have done 99.68 kilometres of running — one-sixth of the team’s total. It was the same formula for their 2022 World Cup run, and now threatens to topple the French team’s flawless run to the quarterfinals.

Brazil were handed the hard lesson of Morocco’s industry. El Aynaoui and Bouaddi finished first and second for distance covered in that game. Casemiro and Bruno Guimaraes were chasing shadows. Similar script against Scotland. First and second, again. While El Aynaoui’s stamina puts the opposition under pressure, Bouaddi capitalises on it with his intelligence in positional awareness. Against Canada, he had eight forced turnovers, thwarting many of Marsch’s attacks in the blooming stage.

At the back, an enforcer who is as good with his feet as he is with his head. Ahead of him, a runner who never stops running. Alongside him, a teenage prodigy with a mind so unusually sharp for someone his age that he solves problems in midfield as effortlessly as differentiating a polynomial. This is the Moroccan spine.

Shuvaditya Bose is a Deputy Copy Editor at the sports desk of The Indian Express. ... Read More