Atlas Lionesses become latest Morocco team to earn a World Cup upset

Morocco’s teams are getting used to upsetting higher-ranked opponents on soccer’s biggest st.

With a 1-0 win over South Korea in Adelaide, South Australia on Sunday, Atlas Lionesses earned ir first Women’s World Cup victory in ir debut tournament. . 72-ranked Morocco upset . 17 South Korea behind a complete defensive performance and its first World Cup goal: a glancing header from Ibtissam Jraïdi off Hanane Aït El Haj’s cross in 6th minute.

Despite an opening 6-0 loss to Germany, Atlas Lionesses are in contention for a spot in kckout st ahead of ir last group game against Colombia on Friday.

“We need to savor win tonight, all toger,” Morocco head coach Reynald Pedros said. “From tomorrow, this game is behind us. What’s important is what is going to happen against Colombia.”

In men’s World Cup last year, Morocco strung toger its own run of upsets. team advanced to round of 16 for first time since 1986 and became first African or Arab nation to reach World Cup semifinals.  team caught attention with wins over Belgium, Canada in group st, followed by kckout wins over Spain and Portugal before a semifinal loss to France.

women’s team has already made Women’s World Cup history as first Arab or rth African nation to qualify.

“We have same sense of determination and motivation, that this is a dream that’s going to come true, as with Qatar World Cup, where men were able to make history,” Morocco captain Ghizlane Chebbak said before tournament started. “We hope we can replicate same achievements of men’s team.”

Defender uhaila Benzina missed Morocco’s debut last week but made history Sunday as first player to wear a hijab while competing at a senior-level global tournament.

A FIFA ban on playing in religious head coverings in its sanctioned games for “health and safety reasons” was overturned in 2014.

Against South Korea, Benzina played a part as Morocco rebounded from lopsided loss to two-time champion Germany — a match Pedros described as “David versus Goliath.”

Shifting team’s mindset and rotating in “fresh legs” allowed Atlas Lionesses to get off “to a blinding start” and create chances, Pedros said. “We were very active, very aggressive.”

Atlas Lionesses surprised soccer world by upsetting eleven-time Africa Cup of Nations champion Nigeria on penalties in semifinals of AFCON 2022 tournament. Morocco hosted tournament and finished runner-up to South Africa after a 2-1 loss with over 45,000 in attendance, earning a spot at World Cup being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

In 2020, Royal Moroccan Football Federation laid out a four-year women’s soccer investment plan including youth development programs and funding for women’s professional clubs, in hopes that its women’s team, which had t qualified for AFCON in two decades, could make a statement on global st. Morocco will host AFCON tournament again in 2024.

“We can have more and more players feeding into national team,” Pedros said of federation’s development. “We’re talking about us, first team, under-20s, under-17s. We’re talking about very long standing work we’re starting right w.”

Coming from a region passionate about men’s football but historically slower to embrace women’s game, Pedros and his players recognize impact that each Moroccan match has.

“Those that love football have male role models,” Pedros said. “What we want in Morocco is that those that love football have female role models as well.”