Morocco leave Russia 2018 with heads held high
In this edition of his World Cup analysis, Andrew Hallett admits to loving the drama in Group B and is salivating over the potential Round of 16 clashes.
Morocco, we are proud of you!
Yes, Morocco may have picked up just one point on their way to elimination from the World Cup at the first hurdle, but nobody can say with a straight face that they didn't give their absolute all over the three games. The reality is that with a bit more luck, they could have qualified from a group nobody gave them a chance in.
The 2-2 draw with Spain was deserved, but sadly their dominance in matches against Iran and Portugal was not rewarded with more. The North Africans play a wonderful brand of football which makes them a favourite with neutrals, but a lack of a killer instinct when it really mattered was to be their downfall.
This is not the last we will hear of Morocco on the world stage, and I wouldn't bet against them impressing even more at Qatar 2022.
Egypt, what happened?
For all the praise that Morocco deserves, the complete opposite can be said of Egypt. The Pharaohs were terrible in this World Cup. They picked up zero points and lost to Saudi Arabia - arguably the tournament's worst team on paper. The less said about this embarrassing campaign the better. Not cool, Egypt. Not cool.
Group B's drama
Iran and Morocco very nearly threw the cat amongst the pigeons as far as Group B is concerned, with Spain and Portugal both on the verge of elimination at one point or another on Monday night. While the two European giants eventually secured qualification to the Round of 16, Iran and Morocco did their best to spoil their party. They say class always rises to the top, but you have to feel for Iran, especially as they could have won the group had their forward not hit the side netting very late on in their clash with Portugal. It will be a case of 'what might have been' for the Asian side now, and I bet not many of them slept very well last night.
First Round of 16 clashes confirmed
Uruguay will take on Portugal on Saturday in the Round of 16, while hosts Russia will face Spain on Sunday. Those are some very interesting match-ups, and with the possibility of Brazil facing Germany and France taking on Argentina if things go according to plan, this could well be the best Round of 16 ever!
Also read: Nigeria and Senegal fly Africa's flag high