After making history in Arab women's football on the African continent as the first team to reach the World Cup finals, the Moroccan women's team aspires to leave a historic mark at the global event scheduled in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20.
Armed with their achievements on home soil in the African Cup of Nations last year, where they reached the final but lost to South Africa, and their qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics, along with the achievements of the men's team who reached the semi-finals of the Qatar World Cup last year, and the under-23 national team that won the African Cup of Nations, the Atlas Lionesses enter the World Cup with the aim of following in their footsteps and honoring Moroccan football in their first participation in the tournament.
Midfielder and forward Salma Amani (32 years old), who plays for Saint-Malo club in France, explained in a press statement, "The preparations are going very well, and the players are fully ready. There is no pressure on us as we are professional players who are accustomed to such atmospheres, and we will strive to follow in the footsteps of the other national teams that have achieved a lot of accomplishments. This is what we aspire to in our participation in the World Cup."
The Moroccan team, led by French coach Reynald Pedros, prepared for the World Cup with a training camp in Austria and played two friendly matches against Italy and Switzerland, which ended in goalless draws. They will travel to Australia where they will play a final friendly match in Melbourne against Jamaica before the start of the competition in Group 8 alongside Germany, Colombia, and South Korea.
Morocco relies on its backbone of local players, especially the dominant Royal Army team that has won the domestic championship in recent years, which will lead to great cohesion among the players, according to the team's forward Sanaa Mesoudi, who added, "The professional players outside Morocco will not have difficulty integrating because this is their group and our home. We try to communicate with them in languages they master, whether it's French, English, or Spanish, and we try to adapt and convey the information to them."
Goalkeeper Khadija Al-Ramishi said that the atmosphere during the camp was good, stating, "We have spent a very important period of preparation, as evidenced by the high morale of all the players. We know what awaits us there and the responsibility that falls on our shoulders in the face of the expectations of the Moroccan fans."
She continued, "We want to honor Moroccan football in the global competition. We keep that in mind during training, where we make efforts to achieve our goal."
Captain of the team, Ghazal Al-Shabak, affirmed, "We will travel to Australia to enter the final stage of preparation. We have benefited greatly from the two friendly matches, and we will continue our efforts because we must be at the peak of our readiness in order to honor Moroccan and Arab football as well."
"To reach the farthest possible stage" -
Coach Pedros, to whom the achievements of the Moroccan women's team are attributed, emphasized, "Our goal is simple, which is to reach the farthest possible stage. We will not go to the World Cup saying that it is good enough to have qualified for the global event, and we will see what happens."
He added in a press conference, "We will prepare for this World Cup in order to achieve an accomplishment, to try to reach the round of 16. I believe that ambition does not prevent caution, and the opposite is true. We know that we are the 'smallest' team in this group, and that we are the easiest team to face for the other teams. But at the same time, this does not prevent us from making it difficult for these teams."
He continued, "We must be prepared to play the first match against Germany, and in any case, our ambition is to be ready for the first match and do everything in our power to reach the round of 16."
Pedros affirmed that "what Morocco achieved in the 2022 World Cup has a very significant impact on the women's team, and I believe that we must learn from the good examples around us. The best example is what the men's team did in Qatar thanks to dedication, solidarity, hard work, team spirit, and collective play. We need to convey to the players that we need that as well in order to deliver a great tournament in Australia and New Zealand."
He pointed out that women's football in Morocco is experiencing "significant development, with new teams and national teams shining in various continental competitions. This is a promising beginning, and more work needs to be done in clubs and national teams to continue developing Moroccan women's football."
He explained that "Morocco has a technical identity and players who love the game, but we had to work in a different way to acquire a comprehensive identity and add a sporting dimension to the team."
AFP