Morocco and Spain will bring the diplomatic tension of recent years to the grass of Doha, which will not be a neutral battlefield - because the expectation is a huge majority of Moroccan fans.
The two countries that kiss each other between Europe and Africa clashed, among other things, in the Western Sahara, from which the Spanish army withdrew in 1976 and two-thirds remained under Moroccan control and the rest under Mauritanian control.
The two countries will fight tonight (Monday) for a place in the quarter-finals, when in the three meetings in the World Cup Spain won twice and the third ended in a draw four years ago in Russia.
Spain have a younger squad, but as a country they have more experience - this is their 16th World Cup, while the Moroccans are participating in their sixth.
After the amazing victory against Costa Rica and the convincing draw against Germany, Spain lost to Japan, in a game in which they were not the only ones to suffer.
Like coach Luis Enrique, 10 million Spanish viewers on television also suffered, because they were actually three minutes out of the World Cup, but in the end they went to sleep with a sense of relief because on paper they had an easier route to the semi-finals.
Emphasis on the paper.
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"Always look at the negative"
Luis Enrique is convinced that his soldiers learned their lesson in the lost battle against Japan and warned the opponent not only because of their advantage in the stands but mainly because of the group pressure and the dangers in strategic situations.
In a team without big stars (dear Padre, forgive me) there is no safe place even for Álvaro Morata, who is the only Spaniard to score in the first three games in the World Cup apart from the legendary Talmo Sara in 1950.
Faced with the criticism, Enrique bared his teeth in front of the journalists yesterday: "You talk to me about ten bad minutes against Japan, but we played 270 minutes. You can always improve, but I'm sorry, you always look only at the negative."
Zaish.
Returned the trust we placed in him, photo: Getty Images
The coach of Morocco, Walid Ragheraghi, must not only prepare the tactics to cancel the "tiki-taka" of "La Roja", but also know how to manage the over-enthusiasm of a team of a whole nation that is in euphoria, after reaching the round of 16 of the World Cup for the first time The first since 1986.
"able to die for you"
Four months ago, Regaragi replaced Wahid Halilhodzic, who had a bad relationship with several players.
The big star Hakim Zaish even decided to give up the team, but with the new coach he is one of the winning cards, as he proved with his goal against Canada.
"A lot of people say that Hakim is a guy who is difficult to manage, but what I see is that if you give him love and trust, he is able to die for you. He has given me back all the trust I put in him," noted the coach, who knows that he will have control of the stands but not of the proceedings on the lawn
This is not bad news, because in bursts fast players like Youssef An-Nasiri can cause damage to Spain's slightly slower brakes.
An-Nasiri knows the Spaniards very well, who recognize him as one of Sevilla's stars even though he is getting fewer minutes this year.
The one who has a safe place in Sevilla is his compatriot, the goalkeeper Yassin Bono.
Of the 26 players in the squad, 15 were born outside of Morocco.
Many children of Moroccan immigrants who come to Spain, try their luck in football as a way to succeed in their new country, like Ashraf Hakimi, who was born in Madrid in 1998 and was one of the youth stars of Real Madrid.
For Morocco it is a meeting not only with the rich neighbor but also with history.
They do not lack faith and desire against the favorite Spain.
The police in Spain also heard about the desire, and went on alert in areas inhabited by Moroccan citizens, fearing riots in the streets at the end of the game, as happened in Belgium during the tournament.
Betwinner ratio for a Morocco win 5.50, for a draw 3.50 and for a Spain win 1.50
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