The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, coupled with Morocco’s Prime Minister, Aziz Akhannouch, and other leaders watched France beat Morocco in the semi-finals of the World Cup at the White House on Wednesday night, December 14.
The leaders were in Washington, DC, for the US-Africa leader summit.
The American president put the information on his social media account but only made mention of one guest, the Prime Minister of Morocco, ignoring the present of the President of Nigeria.
Before the semi-final clash with France, President Muhammadu Buhari had wished the Moroccan team success, rooting for the North African side to become the first African country to qualify for the World Cup final.
Since the president’s wish didn’t come true, many fans claimed that the president jinxed it like he always does whenever he wishes a football team success.
Morocco, who had only conceded one goal in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar before playing France, were vulnerable in defense as the French players scored two goals to make it to the World Cup final twice consecutively.
Morocco were the better team and had different opportunities of scoring a goal, but the French defenders were more composed and alert to any threat possessed by Morocco attackers.
France goalkeeper Hugo Iiloris was also at his best, making important saves to keep a clean sheet.
Morocco played with all their hearts as the best African team in Qatar but their best was not good enough. Note that before the semi-final defeat, Atlas Lions were the only African team to play 14 hours of football without conceding a goal.
The team also has the opportunity to become the first African team to win third place when they play Croatia on December 17, 2022.
They are likely to win the award for the best team in the tournament because they were referred to as the underdogs due to the caliber of their players.
If Morocco maintain their current form and shape, they are likely to win the next edition of the Africa Nations Cup.
The team has one of the best training facilities, with the Prime Minister of the country investing more in sports.
On the other hand, France faces Argentina in the final, which is likely to be the team’s toughest match. The French side would find it difficult to stop Lionel Messi, who already has five goals and three assists so far in the tournament.
In addition, Julian Alvarez and Enzo Fernandes will be two players France will have to deal with on Sunday.
Recently, the good news of Karim Benzema being fit to play in the World Cup final erupted in the France camp. But nothing official on that yet.
With or without Benzema, the striking force of Ousmane Dembélé, Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe will be difficult to deal with. Hence, Argentina defenders Christian Romero and Nicholas Otamendi might be stressed out in the final.
