It usually goes like this: A football tournament begins, underdogs are eliminated in a couple of rounds (usually in the group stage) and heavy hitters such as France, Germany, Brazil and other countries with traditionally powerful national squads dominate the rest of the competition.
But guess what, Brazil and Germany, two national teams whose badges carry five and four stars respectively – representing that many World Cup victories – have been eliminated in the FIFA 2022 Qatar World Cup. Brazil lost to Croatia and Germany could not even make it past the group stage due to a goal-difference tiebreaker.
Now we're at the semifinals and the remaining four teams are France, Argentina, Croatia and Morocco.
If you are interested in football, the first three teams' qualification in the semifinals might not come as much of a surprise. But Morocco? Now that's a shocker. A shocker that has been hailed as some sort of "victory of the masses" worldwide – because we are at one of those "football is never only football" moments where we vividly experience the unexpected. Just like when Türkiye advanced all the way to the semifinals in Euro 2008 with consecutive last-minute victories, which led to the European press uttering those words: "A match cannot be considered over unless Turks get on the bus."
Will a similar expression be used for Moroccans as well? This question will only depend on the magic of football, the surprises the very sport is highly prone to and the North African contenders' determination. Nonetheless, even the fact that they have proven to be at least the fourth-best team in the world has been hailed as the long-awaited triumph of underdogs worldwide. And they actually have a shot at winning the World Cup when you think about how the apparently outclassed team defeated many heavy hitters to throw their hats into the semifinals.
They are not just the underdogs in football or even sports. The underdogs around the globe, who are living in underdeveloped countries and those that had to grow up with the inferiority complex deeply embedded in their psyches.
Let's be honest here: It is glaringly obvious that the most developed states in the West are at least several centuries ahead of the "third world countries" in terms of humanitarian development, health systems, democratic governance and many other important aspects of life. The course of the time was in favor of the Westerners and they got the upper hand through brutal imperialism, the slave trade, the occupation of native lands and other inhumane practices. They have left many methods of their previous barbarianism behind but to tell the truth, the fact that the Western world is envied today is the product of what they did back in the day. As time progressed, the civilizational and developmental difference between the developed West and the rest has only gotten bigger, leading to a very painful scar in the subconscious of "third world peoples." As a result, a feeling that being bested by the West is inevitable, be it in sports, science, literature or any other intellectual realm.
That feeling has been utterly shattered now that Morocco has made it in the shade. They have advanced all the way to the semifinals and they are only two victories from bringing the World Cup to a geography that has never seen it firsthand before – if you ignore the proximity of Spain to Morocco, of course.
But history is clear on the issue: The World Cup has never been won by any African team before, and even Morocco's qualification to the semifinals as an African team was a first too. There have been some strong contenders, but they ultimately hit the glass ceiling.
Morocco, on the other hand, seems determined to break through any obstacle that dares cross its path. Now, they have the absolute level boss against them: France.
Their former colonial rulers.
As history tells us, the French occupation of Morocco began in 1907 and continued until 1934. By the Treaty of Fez of 1912, France formed a protectorate over Morocco and spent the next two decades taking advantage of the country's riches.
Now, more than ever, it is time for the Maghrebiens to show their former rulers that they do not bow to overlords anymore – through sporting merit, of course. The times of colonialism and protectorates are over – although several aspects of imperialism continue to linger, such as French corporations' stranglehold on African business – so a victory against France would mean very, very much for the Africans and other people around the world who suffered from European colonialism in the past.
It would at least be a relief, a kind of revenge against their former oppressors. That's why football is never only football; it has many aspects of real life embedded in it, and fans demonstrate how seriously they take the sport with their demonstrations all across the globe. The African team's success was hailed all around the globe, not only in North Africa or Arab states.
That lone is very telling: The victory has not been perceived as an African or an Arab victory by the masses around the globe; rather, it has been perceived as the success of all underdogs on all seven continents.
That is why Morocco's victory matters so much to all those people who probably have never been to the country and never wandered around the historical streets of Marrakesh. They only want some relief, some kind of a feeling that they have finally tasted revenge against those that have oppressed them.
And of course, the players of the French national team are not the ones who have committed the atrocities, and in stark irony, many of the French squad are ethnic Africans whose parents' countries were colonized by France. With that said, it is clear that the footballers wearing the France jerseys are not the ones to take revenge against. It is a basic aspect of human psychology: We love symbolisms and representations, and competition lies at the core of our evolution – "survival of the fittest," for starters.
Before you lament about how football lovers are dumb people who get unreasonable amounts of pleasure from just seeing 22 people kicking a ball around on a green pitch – think again. Think about imperialism, think about history, think about human evolution, think about the rivalry between the West and the East, think about culture wars, and think about how we got here as humans.
Football is never only football, and Morocco is about to prove it.
