Not only did Morocco surprise everybody at this World Cup, but they received a lot of praise. First, as a well-organized team, and second, as a bunch of exemplary individuals. And if Azzedine Ounahi was the revelation of the tournament, Sofyan Amrabat is already a household name. While Ounahi is in the last-placed Angers in League 1, his national team colleague regularly plays for Fiorentina, after a 20 million euros transfer from Verona last January.51 – Sofyan Amrabat recovered possession of the ball 51 times during the 2022 World Cup, the most of any player on record at a single edition for an African nation (1966 onwards). Hustle. pic.twitter.com/XYJXTqrM5l— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 14, 2022 Ambarat is ‘having a hell of a World Cup’ said Spain coach Louis Enrique after his team crashed out of the tournament and he got the sack. So, France coach Didier Deschamps noticed that and wanted to make sure that Ambarat didn’t enjoy his stay in Qatar anymore. So, he ordered one of his oldest players, Olivier Giroud (36), to follow the player during the whole match, and his striker did an excellent job.“Their striker, Olivier Giroud, followed me everywhere all over the field. I said to him, just STOP! He replied that he was instructed to follow me for the whole game. We feel very bitter that we couldn’t do more. France let us have the initiative from the start, so I guess that’s a compliment really. Unfortunately, it was tough after stupidly conceding such an early goal and we had to play into their hands, with the pace they had upfront. Maybe when we look back, we’ll realise it, but right now it’s mostly bitterness. It’s especially painful when the game was so close” revealed the Fiorentina midfielder to NOS after the game.Regragui: ‘Next time, God willing’Amrabat had massive support from his countrymen, but also from his Italian teammates. Fiorentina played a friendly game against Bastia last night (won 2-1), but decided to postpone their journey back to Italy until the evening so that they could sit together and watch the World Cup semi-final, cheering on teammate Amrabat’s Morocco against France.##NAJAVA_MECA_6890958##
