Moroccan World Cup Success Sparks Celebrations Among Diaspora in Ireland

In Ireland, supporters are savoring the victory of the Atlas Lions over Portugal and the first qualification of the Moroccan team in the World Cup semi-finals. "It was very exciting. At the end of the match, we had all these Irish passing in front of the restaurant and they were coming in and saying ’Come on Morocco, come on Morocco, come on Morocco’. They were celebrating like us," says Dino Noureddine, manager of the Dada restaurant on South William St., Dublin 2, to The Irish Times. He remembers as if it were yesterday the elimination of Ireland on penalties by Spain. "I had my heart broken when that happened. We really appreciate that the Irish are on our side, just as we would be on Ireland’s side if the positions were reversed."

Celebrations also took place in Morocco. "(...) We undoubtedly have one of the best teams in the world. Last night, no one was sleeping all over Morocco. It was a bit like Ireland in Italy 90, except that in Morocco no one was drinking alcohol. We have a different way of celebrating," says Aziz Khrouch, the chef of the Capel Street restaurant, thus referring to Ireland’s first World Cup appearance, which took place in Italy in 1990. Ireland had made history in a surprising way by qualifying for the quarter-finals without winning a single match.

After qualifying for the semi-finals, Morocco will face France this Wednesday, December 14. Aziz is full of optimism: "I think the Moroccan people all believe in this team." "We’re going to beat France. We’ve only conceded one goal in this whole tournament. We have by far the best defense. They have [Kylian] Mbappé, but we have [Achraf] Hakimi," he continued, referring to the two World Cup stars, very close, who play for PSG. Noureddine is cautious. "France is very physical, it is very talented and it has players who play with all the best clubs in Europe, but anything can happen, it’s football."