World Cup Clash: Spain vs. Morocco Stirs Excitement in Ceuta and Melilla

With an overwhelming victory against Costa Rica (7-0), a draw against Germany and a defeat against Japan, Spain qualified for the round of 16 of the World Cup where they will face Morocco, who finished first in their group after a victory over Belgium (2-0) and Canada (2-1) and a draw against Croatia (0-0). The match scheduled for this Tuesday is therefore highly anticipated and will be experienced in a particular way in the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla where there is a large community of Moroccan origin, reports Estadio Deportivo.

At the last World Cup in Russia 2018, Morocco and Spain had faced each other in the group stage, a match that ended in a draw (2-2) which allowed Spain to take the lead in Group B while Morocco had already been eliminated. In Ceuta, where many people of Moroccan origin live, the event had been celebrated in a particular way, with cafes decorated in the colors of the two teams and supporters wearing the Moroccan jersey.

"Ceuta will experience this match like any other celebration, but with more passion and enthusiasm, because there are many citizens here who are of Moroccan origin, children of mixed couples or sons and daughters of Moroccans... May the best team win and long live football and the show," said Karim Prim, a resident of the working-class neighborhood of El Príncipe, and director of the Cádiz FC academy in Morocco, who will be in Qatar to follow the match.

"In the Moroccan national team, there is Munir Mohand Mohamedi, who played at Goyu-Ryu (Ceuta club). We follow a lot of players who are in the Moroccan national team," said Karim, who recalls that Achraf Hakimi is Spanish and that other Moroccan players play in La Liga. "We must not forget that there are nearly a million Moroccans in Spain, so the match is special. Both in Ceuta and Melilla, we are Spanish, but we are still grandchildren or children of Moroccans," Karim concluded.