'The dream has not ended': Moroccans celebrate Atlas Lions heroes despite defeat

Morocco's Atlas Lions may have fallen short of qualifying for the World Cup final, but for many Moroccans, the team had already won the prize of being heroes to a nation and champions of people's hearts.

"They taught us that we can dream, that's a win for me," Mehdi, 24, a Moroccan supporter in Rabat, said to The New Arab.

In a country hammered with economic hardship and political infractions, Atlas Lions' historic run at the World Cup rocked the Moroccan streets for weeks with unprecedented ecstatic crowds - the same streets that used to chant, just a few weeks ago, in anger against skyrocketing poverty and arrests of anti-state activists.

The Moroccan euphoria extended to the rest of the African continent and the Arab world, where Moroccan victories against long-time favourites took more of a political meaning.

Atlas Lions defeated Spain and Portugal, two former colonisers, and fought tooth and nail against France, the former champion of the World Cup in 2018.

In addition, during the World Cup, the Moroccan team and fans' steadfast loyalty to the Palestinian flag captured hearts from Gaza to Senegal, pushing even non-football fans to cheer for the Atlas Lions.

"I am not really a football fan. But I watched every match they played. They did what our governments could not do: they stood for us, they made us happy," Hala, 23, a Morocco-based Palestinian, told the TNA.

On Wednesday night, a few minutes after Morocco vs France match ended 2-0, rain fell on the capital Rabat as fans headed back home from the cafés that used to erupt with celebrations.

Despite the loss, some fans started car honking in salute of the Atlas Lions' efforts, but it was too soon for many Moroccans who did not want the dream to end.

"Don't get me wrong, I am proud of them [Moroccan team]. But I did not want the dream to end," Mohamed, 57, told TNA, overwhelmed with emotion.

For weeks, Moroccans in cities and outskirts, dressed almost exclusively in the Moroccan jerseys - mostly affordable copycats - hung the country's flags on their houses and replaced their goodbyes with the cheer 'Dima Maghreb'.

"It was the first time that I felt Morocco belonged to us, poor people. They reminded us how much we love this country despite all our miseries," Fatima, 49, a Moroccan fan, said to TNA.

Meanwhile, kids and adolescents in poor neighbourhoods replaced their Messi and Ronaldo jerseys with Ziyech and En-Nesyri's ones, hoping one day to break the poverty chain and 'make it'.

"I want to become a professional player like Youssef En-Nesyri. He was also like me. (…)I want to make my mother proud too. She always supports me," Reda, a 10-year-old Moroccan fan, told TNA.

Morocco was the first African and Arab team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup in history. Considered an underdog, Atlas Lions' chance to qualify for the semi-finals was below 1%. "We proved studies wrong," said Morocco's coach Walid Reguragui proudly post-Portugal win.

Many Moroccans believe that this is just the start of an era where the Moroccan team will continue to snatch victories and make the nation proud over and over again.

"I have never felt prouder to be Moroccan. The dream has not ended," said Chaimae, 29, a photographer who braved the cold and rain to take pictures of the sad streets of Rabat post-game, quoting Mahmoud Drawish's words, "We are alive and the dream has to be continued."