Morocco fans celebrate the impossible and ask for more

As their national team made history, crowds gathered in Casablanca Saturday evening and chanted "Qualified! Qualified!"Morocco beat Portugal 1-0 at Doha's Al Thumama Stadium to become the first African or Arab team to reach a World Cup semi-final."My heart will stop, what a team, what stamina, what an achievement," Ilham El Idrissi, a 34-year-old Casablanca woman, told AFP.She was not alone in hailing the team known as the Atlas Lions."I think I am dreaming awake. Pinch me! What a huge pride. I thank them from the bottom of my heart," said Mouad Khairat, 29, an executive in a call centre."The Moroccan team has managed to do the impossible. We want the cup now."The collective celebrations that greeted the final whistle are becoming a habit across the kingdom.Morocco topped their group, beating Canada and Belgium and then eliminated Spain on penalties in the Round of 16 before overcoming Portugal."There is no such thing as impossible in soccer, that's the magic of this sport," former Moroccan international Abderrazak Khairi told AFP.Khairi scored twice in the surprise 3-1 victory over the same opponents, Portugal, in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, when Morocco became the first African nation to reach the knockout rounds.No African or Arab country had managed to go beyond the quarter-finals. Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010 came closest to reaching the final four of the most prestigious tournament."The Moroccan team has managed to do the impossible. We want the cup now," said Ali Gyme, 24.In Casablanca, shirts of the national team and the red flags with the green star, are everywhere in the windows, the stalls, the markets.Giant frescoes have appeared showing Chelsea attacker Hakim Ziyech and coach Walid Regragui, who has been elevated to the rank of national hero.Regragui took over the team less than three months before the start of the competition after Vahid Halilhodzic was fired.Beyond the borders of the kingdom, the Moroccan team has been cheered in the African continent and the Arab world.After the victory over Spain, broadcaster Al Jazeera spoke of "the wave of euphoria" across the Arab world."Cheers rang out from Tunis, Beirut, Baghdad, Ramallah and other cities as Arabs gathered to rejoice in the largely unexpected victory over Spain -- a contrast to the political differences that have long divided Arab nations," Al Jazeera said.Weekly publication TelQuel agreed."It is the World Cup of recovered pride," it wrote. "It is the World Cup of the voiceless who shout their joy and vent their frustration at a newfound visibility and a rehabilitated self-esteem."Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, reporting from Casablanca, said it was "absolutely electric. People here have been dancing, celebrating, and it’s going to continue through the night”.While many thousands of Morocco fans have travelled to Qatar to cheer the Atlas Lions on, other supporters have done the journey in reverse, keen to sense the effervescent atmosphere gripping the North African country, he added."Two families flew from Saudi Arabia, another from Qatar to be here in Morocco and be amongst Moroccans to experience this moment,” Haque said.Adnane Bennis, managing director of the Morocco World News English-language news website, said there were "no words” to fully express what Morocco’s win over Portugal meant for the country, Africa and the wider Arab region."It is huge for us. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw us qualify for the semi-finals,” Bennis told Al Jazeera from Rabat, Morocco’s capital."We are not going to sleep tonight,” he added, saying Moroccans – both in the country and those living abroad – would be busy celebrating their win until dawn."This is a great win for Morocco, a historic win, and it didn’t come out of nothing. We believed in ourselves, we believed in our squad ... The dream is still alive, the journey is still ongoing and we are now two victories away from winning the World Cup.”There were similar outpourings of joy across the region.In the besieged Gaza Strip, the coastal enclave’s largest sports hall was packed with thousands of people cheering on Morocco.Reporting from the venue, Al Jazeera’s Youmna ElSayed said those gathered saw the historic result as a win for "all Arab nations”."They shouted, they clapped, they drummed, they sang. And then with the final whistle, thousands went out onto the streets to start their celebrations and to show their support, joy and happiness for Morocco,” she said."Dozens of fans we spoke to tonight told us how important this game was for them,” ElSayed added.In Qatar, which is hosting the first World Cup ever to be played in the Middle East, Morocco fans said their grandest hopes and dreams had been surpassed by the Atlas Lions’ mesmerising journey to the last four."This was a great match, [coach] Walid Regragui’s side was very tactical, and the whole team showed their quality,” fan Abdul Aziz told Al Jazeera from Doha’s Souq Waqif, where supporters who had been unable to procure a ticket for the spectacle at Al Thumama Stadium gathered to watch the game on television."They played two different games across the two halves, the first half was one they wanted to win by at least one goal, and the second half was a very tactical showing,” he added. "And they deserved to win.”"I still can’t believe it. It doesn’t feel real to me,” Hassan Fadlaoui, 39, told Al Jazeera in Doha. "It’s been an amazing journey for our people in these past few weeks ... something for so many people to feel better about.”The quarter-final seemed like another home game for Morocco, with the team’s supporters dominating in the stands. The Moroccan fans cheered, jeered and performed the thunderous Viking claps throughout the game.After the final whistle, the stadium erupted as thousands jumped up and down in the stands, hugging and embracing their friends and family celebrating the result.The party moved outside where hundreds gathered in front of the cameras to express their delight on this momentous occasion, while others belted out their dance moves to Belgian musician Stromae’s classics."I am not surprised at all ... we have been playing amazing. There was no way Portugal was going to win,” 32-year-old Moroccan citizen Amina Brouk said."We had faith in our team, our players and most importantly in Allah [God] ... when God is with you, nobody can defeat you."Morocco’s clean sheet capped a resolute defensive showing in Qatar, which has now seen them play more than seven hours of football without conceding to an opposition player.Hussein, a Bahraini national, said he was overcome with pride in the wake of the result."I am so happy – this is the first time the World Cup is in an Arabic country, and now we have an Arabic team reaching the semifinals for the first time,” he told Al Jazeera at Souq Waqif. "I am so proud of this. It is amazing.”Supporters in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, also welcomed Morocco’s win, which was sealed by Youssef En Nesyri’s pivotal 42nd-minute header."People here are celebrating, and they will continue celebrating overnight,” said Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed, reporting from Baghdad."They say that this victory is so symbolic because it is not only for Morocco but for the whole African continent, the whole Arab world, and the entire Middle East region,” he added."People are very excited ... They say that the feeling today is as if Iraq has won this match.” ()