Assia Darif straightens the Moroccan flag, on a table filled with a mix of snacks and tea during a watch party of the Morocco vs. France semi-final World Cup match, Dec. 14 at her Denver home. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Members of the Moroccan immigrant community all react in kind during a watch party of the Morocco vs. France semi-final World Cup match, Dec. 14 at the home of one of the community members. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Members of the Moroccan immigrant community all react in kind during a watch party of the Morocco vs. France semi-final World Cup match, Dec. 14 at the home of one of the community members. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Fedoua Bouhamidi, center, along with the a group of friends from the Moroccan immigrant community react to the during a watch party of the Morocco vs. France semi-final World Cup match, Dec. 14 at the home of one of the community members. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Lina Belaissaoui watches the soccer match with intensity during a watch party of the Morocco vs. France semi-final World Cup match, Dec. 14 at the home of one of the community members. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Members of the Moroccan immigrant community all celebrate with a chant during a watch party of the Morocco vs. France semi-final World Cup match, Dec. 14 at the home of one of the community members. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Fedoua Bouhamidi beats on a drum in rhythm to a chant during a watch party of the Morocco vs. France semi-final World Cup match, Dec. 14 at the home of one of the community members. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Amina Zahri, left, reacts along with a group friends of the Moroccan immigrant community during a watch party of the Morocco vs. France semi-final World Cup match, Dec. 14 at the home of Assia Darif. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado
AURORA | When the World Cup started, most fans of Morocco’s team weren’t expecting to get to watch them play many games.
“We were making jokes that the airplane would not turn off the engine,” when it flew the country’s team to Qatar for its first game, said Hanane Ghiwane, who works as a school liaison for refugees at the African Community Center.
But the team made it all the way to the semifinals, squaring off against France on Wednesday. France, which won the previous World Cup in 2018, won 2-0 and will play Argentina in Sunday’s World Cup final.
By making it to the semifinals, Morocco advanced further in the competition than any other African or Arab team had previously, and they beat several of the most favored teams along the way, including Spain, Belgium and Portugal.
For Morocco fans around the globe, including in Aurora, the team’s stellar performance was a dream come true.
“It’s our Cinderella story,” said Hanadi Elmrini.
Elmrini was at a friend’s apartment to watch the semifinal match with a group of people from the local Moroccan community. Throughout the World Cup, a group of Moroccan immigrants in Aurora and Denver have been meeting at different people’s homes so they can watch the games together, taking time off from work or school to be there.
On Wednesday the group was gathered at an apartment in Denver, wearing Moroccan flag hats, scarves and face paint. One member of the group coordinated an order of sweatshirts with the Moroccan flag on the front and each individual’s name written in Arabic on the back.
“It’s been our little uniform,” said Samia Bouchagour, a CU student and Aurora native.
Bouchagour’s mother is Moroccan and her father is Algerian. Both are rooting for the Moroccan team, whose success she said has been meaningful for people across the Arab and African diaspora.
”It’s been really exciting for not only Moroccans but Arabs and Muslims everywhere,” she said.
Aurora resident Ayah Alshaer voiced similar feelings. Alshaer is part Moroccan and part Palestinian, and she said she appreciated the visibility the Arab teams playing in the World Cup have brought to Palestine and the way Morocco’s unexpected success have brought people together.
Alshaer visits Morocco every summer, and she said it’s been exciting to watch how the country’s team has improved over the years.
“I love seeing that my country is being represented,” she said. “It’s been an emotional rollercoaster.”
The match was nerve wracking from start to finish, with the French team scoring a goal in just the first few minutes and a number of frustrating decisions from the referee. During heated moments chants of sir, an Arabic word for ‘go’ or yalla, colloquially meaning ‘let’s go’ or ‘hurry up’ erupted.
“We’re very passionate,” said Rita Kbayli with a laugh. A sophomore at Eaglecrest High School, Kbayli’s parents are Moroccan and she loves soccer, hoping to start playing on her school’s team.
“It’s been really stressful but really exciting,” she said of this World Cup.
Morocco will play one more game when it faces off against Croatia on Saturday to determine which team comes in third. Even though they didn’t make it all the way to the finals, the group said putting Morocco in the international spotlight was a win of its own.
Elmrini said by coming this far they’ve made the Moroccan community proud — and have made history.
“Everybody knows about Morocco now,” she said.