Tom Yousef Drissi

🇲🇦🇬🇧- Football fan & occasional writer, featured in @TelegraphSport, @BBCWorldService and @AJEnglish. ✏️🎙️ #OTBC 💛💚

[Tom Yousef Drissi @TomYousef29]

Have written a piece on the enduring, strong sense of ‘Moroccanness’ felt in much of the diaspora, and the unifying role of our cosmopolitan squad at the World Cup - for Moroccans and the wider world. Do check out if interested! 🇲🇦❤️
https://t.co/pjWqjTAaIc

[Tom Yousef Drissi @TomYousef29]

I’ve never not seen Alexander Sorloth injure/clatter the opposing left back/left winger when he plays out wide for Norway. 🇳🇴
He still duels like a centre forward, as Mazraoui, Ezzalzouli and O’Reilly found out the hard way.

[Mohammed Haniya @mohammedhaniya]

أسود الأطلس من قلب غزة..

هنا قلب غزي يُحب الفرحة العربية وينتظرها.. مبروك المغرب، رفعتم رأسنا

[Pharaohs XI 🇪🇬 @PharaohsXI]

First African side to ever reach consecutive World Cup quarterfinals. And to do it with different managers and a host of a different players speaks to how systematic their resurgence is... it's not just a single 'golden generation' with a cult-of-personality manager. They've harvested every possible resource at their disposal to maximize outcomes.

[OptaJoe @OptaJoe]

3 - 🇲🇦 Soufiane Rahimi has been involved in three goals in five FIFA World Cup appearances (2 goals, 1 assist), all as a sub.

It's the most goal involvements by an African player who has never started a game in World Cup history.

Impact.

[Tom Yousef Drissi @TomYousef29]

A lot has been made about Morocco’s use of players from their diaspora. Tonight Morocco win a World Cup knockout match 3-0 with our goals scored by 2 boys born in Casablanca.

Ounahi one of the shining stars produced by the Mohamed VI academy. #DimaMaghrib  #CANMAR

[Tom Yousef Drissi @TomYousef29]

How would love to see an Ounahi World Cup hattrick…

[Tom Yousef Drissi @TomYousef29]

SIIUUUU
Fantastic set piece. Unreal execution by Ounahi. Who was very close to a second yellow moments earlier. We need to turn the screw now whilst Canada’s belief (from the first half) is wavering.

[Tom Yousef Drissi @TomYousef29]

There is space in behind which we’ve broken into a few times - could be a 2nd half for Talbi. Ezzalzouli would have been a game changer here - pinning Canada’s line back. Hakimi / Brahim side best placed to exploit that.

[Tom Yousef Drissi @TomYousef29]

Dreadful and lethargic first half for Morocco here - perhaps day less of or the toll of extra time in R32.

As in 2022, lack of squad depth on show as games come thick & fast - Ouahbi not bringing Ait Boudlal under the microscope again after this *very* nervy Halhal showing. 🇲🇦

[Tom Yousef Drissi @TomYousef29]

A few quick reflections on Morocco 🇲🇦 the Netherlands 🇳�� on Substack - written after a day of work on 2hrs of sleep...
https://t.co/vB0oglhMlT

[Said Amdaa @SaidAmdaa]

Plus qu’un président, le père fondateur du renouveau marocain.

Merci pour tout le travail accompli. Éternelle reconnaissance.

DON LEKJAA. 🧢🚬

[Amr Fekry @AmrFekry26]

And their Knockout wins came against Spain, Portugal, and Netherlands... I mean.. maaan!

[CounterPressers @CounterPressers]

Morocco deserved to beat Holland; they have established themselves as top 7/8 footballing nation.

That game showcased just how far the footballing paradigm has shifted in the last 10-15 years. Morocco were the only side that looked to play free-flowing, positive football.

[amadí @amadoit__]

Thierry Henry: 'The team who tried to win, won. They never changed their shape, they never changed their attitude. They deserve it.' #Morocco

[Bd@irB@ll @Bd_irB_ll]

Bro like I'm serious we need to take a moment to understand what just happened. Like we've simply never seen this before

[RedDevilJoseph🇲🇦 @RedDevilJoseph]

This is the game that solidified our new status as a major team at the WC and protected our 2022 legacy forever.

[Maher Mezahi @MezahiMaher]

Whatever happens, we just witnessed Morocco outplay the Netherlands for 120 minutes.

It wasn't a lucky game, it wasn't a one-off. This was a clear indicator about this team's strength and future potential.

Time for Bounou heroics.

[Tom Yousef Drissi @TomYousef29]

Player Ratings 🇲🇦🇳🇱

Bono - 8/10
Hakimi - 7/10
Riad - 7/10
Diop - 8/10
Mazraoui - 10/10
El Aynaoui - 7.5/10
Bouaddi - 6/10
Ounahi- 7.5/10
Brahim - 4/10
El Khannous - 9/10
Saibari - 7/10

♻️
El Mourabet - 7.5/10
Salah-Eddine- 8/10
Rahimi - 6.5/10
Talbi - 7.5/10
Yassine - 6.5/10

[Tom Yousef Drissi @TomYousef29]

The picture is more nuanced:

Morocco swept 3 CHANs & the Arab Cup with high shares of locally developed talent.

And Morocco sat low down the FIFA rankings & got grouped at consecutive AFCONs in the early 2010s with squads comprising of a majority of players born abroad. 🇲🇦

[Tom Yousef Drissi @TomYousef29]

A lot of discourse oversimplifies by suggesting success of Morocco has been magically discovering and utilising the ~5m strong diaspora. But this has been happening for decades, the change is the quality of player & the age they’re being integrated. 🇲🇦