Of course, there was plenty of Colombian pressure in the second half and while Morocco defended resolutely and Khadija Er-Rmichi made some top-class saves, this was no mere backs-to-the-wall performance full of desperate defending, but one of a team that looked to get forward whenever possible, and it was only in the final few minutes that they started to look tired. The legendary Ghizlane Chebbak stepped up only to see her kick saved, before Anissa Lahmani came in to shoot home the rebound. The lead had been taken just before the break due to what was a fairly soft penalty as Ibtissam Jraidi was brought down in the area. First they had to wait for the final whistle to ensure that the three points came against Colombia. That meant that the last win over the South Americans was enough to progress, as Germany just could not find the all-important second goal to defeat the Koreans.įor those watching back home in Rabat, Fez, Marrakesh and everywhere else in the Arab world, there was much more to it than that. Germany lost their second game to Colombia. That gave Reynald Pedros’ team a little hope. After the first game thrashing, Morocco bounced back by beating South Korea 1-0. Nobody could have conceived that, on Thursday, it would be the Europeans wandering around tearful and shell-shocked in Brisbane at the end of their 1-1 draw with South Korea while the Moroccans would be running around the Perth pitch, thousands of kilometers to the west, celebrating after beating the Group H leaders to take second place and become not just the first Arab team to appear at the competition, but also to progress past the group stage. After all, this was a game between the two-time world champions, a team ranked second in the world, and a North African debutant, a full 70 places lower.Īs the full-time whistle sounded in that game, nobody would have imagined that just a few days later Morocco would be going through to the last 16 and that the mighty Germans would be going home. When the Atlas Lionesses lost their first ever World Cup game 6-0 to Germany on July 24 in Melbourne, the reaction was that the team needed time and experience to compete at this level. It could be argued that this latest achievement matches the first, but either way, this is simply stunning. This is truly a golden era for Moroccan football. Less than eight months after the men reached the semifinals of Qatar 2022, the women’s team, unbelievably, reached the knockout stages of their first ever Women’s World Cup. The reaction of the Moroccan players as it all ended was surely matched by fans back home after the stunning 1-0 win over Colombia in Perth, Australia, on Thursday. Some hugged those nearest, some fell to their knees in prayer and disbelief, and some just ran around not knowing what to do with themselves. Two years ago, a spectator brandishing a large cardboard sign while leaning into the path of oncoming riders led to a massive pileup during the opening stage.ĭutch veteran Wout Poels soloed to victory Sunday after the tough trek in the Alps. Organizers also asked fans to “pay attention to the riders” after the incident which did not lead to any withdrawals. “The team felt pretty good today, although we of course had this crash that affected some of my teammates,” Vingegaard said. Vingegaard was riding close to his teammates but escaped unscathed. Jumbo-Visma said Dylan van Baarle and Nathan van Hooydonck were among those who hit the tarmac on Sunday. The Ineos Grenadiers team said “please give the riders room to race.”Ī day after a big pileup forced several riders to abandon, the latest accident occurred after 52 kilometers (32 miles) when a spectator on the side of the road inadvertently touched American rider Sepp Kuss - a key teammate of Vingegaard - and sent him to the ground.įans gathering on the sides of roads and in villages as riders pass by is part of the tradition - and charm - of the Tour, but many spectators can take too many risks, including when they run alongside riders in mountain ascents. You don’t need a cell phone to create mind-blowing memories,” the Cofidis team said amid unverified reports that the spectator who caused the crash was taking a selfie. So that the party remains a party for the riders, but also for you. The incident, which involved around two dozen riders, led to appeals from several teams at the Tour. The Danish rider leads Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia by only 10 seconds with the race about to enter its final week. “I’d like to tell the spectators to enjoy the race and be there to cheer for us without standing on the road or pouring beers on us,” Vingegaard said. SAINT-GERVAIS MONT-BLANC, France: Tour de France overall leader Jonas Vingegaard is calling on fans to behave better at cycling’s biggest race after another mass crash marred the 15th stage on Sunday.
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