The Moroccan team is surprising all the fans in this World Cup in Qatar 2022. The Atlas Lions have reached the semifinals defeating teams like Spain or Portugal and now it is their turn to face the current champion, France.
They have not only made history inside the green, being one game away from playing in the final with Argentina, but also outside: they have become the first team to play a World Cup with 14 nationalized players.
Some of these footballers were born in Spain, but one of the most notorious cases is that of its star, Achraf Hakimi. The PSG winger was born on November 4, 1998 at the Gregorio Marañón hospital in Madrid and began kicking the ball for the first time in Getafe.
There he began to stand out quickly and he received an offer from Atlético de Madrid, which he rejected due to the presence of Real Madrid. After serving in the white club, he has played for Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.
Something similar happened at the selection level. Achraf concentrated with the Spanish U-19 team coached by Luis de la Fuente for a match that was played in Fuenlabrada, but at the end he said: "I'm not coming back", as his father affirms.
Hassam Hakimi, the player's father, explained to other media his odyssey to find work when he arrived in Spain in 1989 and reviewed his son's career. He “he Said 'I don't like it.' In the car he told me that he was not coming back, but he did not tell me why, ”he said in reference to the game he played with the under-19s.
Achraf himself declared in an interview a few days ago that "the team was not my right place, I did not feel at home." The PSG winger has "looked at the Arab culture" at his home, so choosing to defend the colors of Morocco was not a difficult decision.
The controversial World Cup in Qatar is the second played by the Spanish-Moroccan, already established as one of the best defenders in the world and a benchmark for the Moroccan team. The African team has been characterized by maintaining a strong defense in all the games they have played, conceding only one goal, this being an own goal.
Although they have already made history by being the first African team to qualify for the World Cup semifinals, they have an appointment tonight against France at 8:00 p.m. in Spain. The blues are led by Killian Mbappe, a great friend of Hakimi, who will try to break the defense led by his teammate.
