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French president Emmanuel Macron was left impressed by Morocco midfielder Sofyan Amrabat's performance during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He praised the Fiorentina midfielder in front of the entire Morocco squad after Les Bleus defeated the Atlas Lions by a scoreline of 2-0 in the semi-finals of the tournament.
Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani scored for Didier Deschamps' side and booked their berth for the final. They now have the chance to become the first team since 1962 to win two back-to-back FIFA World Cup trophies.
Morocco, meanwhile, deserve all the plaudits for their valiant efforts. They became the first African side to reach the last four of the tournament.
One player among the many who impressed for Walid Regragui's side was Sofyan Amrabat. A rock-solid presence in midfield, Amrabat was just as important for the Atlas Lions as the likes of Hakim Ziyech and Sofiane Boufal during the tournament in Qatar.
Macron, an ardent football lover, recognized the player's qualities and labeled him as the best midfielder of the tournament.
Le Bleus will return to action on 18 December against Argentina. The Atlas Lions, meanwhile, will play Croatia in the third-place game on 17 December.
Morocco manager Walid Regragui reacted to his side's performance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup after the defeat against France
Walid Regragui noted that taking on France in a FIFA World Cup semi-final was a climb too steep for his inexperienced side. Speaking to the media after the game, he said (via The Guardian):
“At a World Cup this was perhaps one step too far. Not in terms of quality or tactics, but physically we came up short tonight. We had too many players at 60% or 70%. With all our squad fit we could have caused them a lot of problems.”
He added:
"We are disappointed for the Moroccan people tonight. We wanted to keep the dream alive. We knew we had achieved something great already and that everyone was proud of us. We are pleased with what we have done but felt we could have gone even further.
"Those small details are what help real champions win and we saw that tonight. I told the players I was proud of them. His majesty is proud, the Moroccan people are proud, the whole world is proud. We worked hard, we were honest, and we showed the values we wanted to show."
