Reporter | Anjing
After hosts Qatar were out early, Saudi Arabia, who beat Argentina, lost to Poland and Mexico, and Tunisia, who beat France, were still eliminated, Morocco is the last hope of the Arab countries in this World Cup.
On 1 December, Morocco defeated Canada 2-1 in the final round of Group F to reach the round of 16 as the first place in the group.
This is the first time since 1986 that Morocco has qualified for the World Cup group stage. Morocco also became the only Arab team to qualify for the round of 16 and the second African team to qualify from the group.
Like Saudi Arabia after beating strong rivals Argentina in the group stage, Morocco's promotion was congratulated by almost all Arab countries. Even Palestinians as far away as the Gaza Strip cheered.
But Algeria, also an Arab country with a territorial dispute with Morocco, remained silent. Algerian media have been accused of deliberately not reporting Morocco's record.
The Palestinians cheered
After Morocco's victory over Canada, Qatar's Emir (head of state) Tamim, who was watching the match, waved the Moroccan flag. Previously, during the Saudi victory over Argentina, Tamim also waved the Saudi flag.
Outside the stadium, fans from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries marched to celebrate, calling Morocco's victory "the victory of the Arabs." Doha's skyscrapers are lit up to form the Moroccan flag to celebrate the Moroccan team's advance.
In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, red lights, symbolizing the Moroccan flag, are also lit up outside Dubai House. Inside Morocco, tens of thousands of people have poured into the streets to wave Moroccan flags.
In the distant Gaza Strip, Palestinians gathered in stadiums to watch the game also cheered Morocco's victory.
Since this World Cup is hosted by a Middle Eastern country, it has become a common practice for fans to wave Palestinian flags and show solidarity with Palestinians during matches. Whether it's a match between Tunisia and Australia, a match between Morocco and Belgium or a match between the host Qatar and the Netherlands, the Palestinian flag is fluttering in the stands.
After beating Canada on Thursday, players from Morocco also ran on the field holding the Palestinian flag high.
A breakthrough step in this World Cup is that Palestinian and Israeli fans can fly directly to Qatar from Tel Aviv, Israel, on a Cyprus Airlines flight.
Qatar does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, and the special flight during the World Cup was the first direct commercial flight between the two countries. Palestine, for its part, has been at hostility with Israel, and Palestinians are normally unable to fly from Tel Aviv and can only take international flights to Jordan or Amman.
Although Palestinian fans and Israeli fans were able to travel to Qatar together, outside of football, the two are still far from peaceful coexistence.
This week, Israeli forces continued raids on Palestinian armed strongholds in the West Bank. Palestinian statistics show that 210 Palestinians have died in attacks by Israeli forces so far this year.
Although the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been marginalized and a few Arab countries such as the United Arab Emirates have normalized relations with Israel, Qatar's official position on Israel remains tough and currently has no intention of establishing diplomatic relations.
In addition to Arab fans, a large number of Iranian fans also traveled to Qatar to watch the match. Iran and Israel are "mortal enemies".
To ensure the safety of fans in the country, Israel's Foreign Ministry issued guidelines ahead of the World Cup matches, calling on Israeli fans traveling to Qatar to keep a low profile and not wave Israel-related signs in public places.
According to Israeli media reports, during this World Cup, Israeli fans and media really felt "hostility".
Some Arab fans refused to be interviewed by Israeli media, and one Saudi fan said to the camera that Qatar does not welcome Israelis, only Palestinians.
An Israeli football commentator said he was denied a ride by a taxi driver in Doha and cancelled by a restaurant after revealing his identity. Some Israeli fans who went to watch the game chose not to wave the Israeli flag to avoid disputes.
Arab world solidarity?
Although this World Cup has temporarily given Arab countries an atmosphere of unity, some disputes cannot be concealed even by the victory of Arab teams.
After Morocco qualified, Morocco's neighbor, Algeria, also an Arab country, did not cheer.
Morocco and Algeria had been tense over the question of the ownership of Western Sahara. In 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara in order to persuade Morocco to normalize relations with Israel.
After this incident, the conflict between Morocco and Algeria further escalated. Last year, Algeria announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Morocco and the closure of the gas pipeline connecting Morocco, citing the issue of Western Sahara and Morocco's support for the Arab separatist forces.
To this day, Morocco and Algeria have not restored diplomatic relations. After the severance of diplomatic relations, the two countries respectively invested heavily in the purchase of new weapons, and an arms race started.
The contradictions between the two countries also extend to the World Cup. After Morocco beat Group F seeded Belgium in the group stage last Sunday, Algerian TV 2 did not report the results of the Moroccan match, only the other teams that played that day.
The move sparked a collective protest by Moroccan media, accusing Algerian media of "falling to a new low" in the bottom line. Moroccan media asked Algerian media if they were ready to block coverage of the match after Morocco advanced to the round of 16.
After reaching the round of 16, Morocco will face Spain, second placed in Group E, on December 6. Spain and Morocco have met three times before, resulting in two wins and one draw.
In addition to the clash in football, Spain is also one of the key players in the question of Western Sahara.
Traditionally, Spain had remained neutral on the question of Western Sahara. But last year, Spain angered Morocco by allowing Brahim Ghali, leader of the People's Liberation Front for Western Sahara, to enter Spain for coronavirus treatment. The Front for the Liberation of Western Sahara has been seeking independence for Western Sahara.
In retaliation against Spain, Morocco allowed a large number of refugees to flow into Ceuta, a Spanish possession in North Africa, causing Spain a headache. Finally, in March of this year, Spain renounced its neutral position and supported Morocco's plan for autonomy for Western Sahara.
After that, relations between Spain and Morocco improved, and Algeria announced the suspension of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Cooperation with Spain and the ban on imports from Spain. But Algeria continues to ship gas to Spain, which has now become the new main force in EU gas supplies.