World Cup 2022: Portugal Star Hails Morocco After Defeat to France

• Rafael Leao has praised the Moroccan national team after their brilliant World Cup run was ended by France in the semi-final
• The Atlas Lions missed out on a place in the World Cup final after they suffered a 2-0 defeat to defending champions France
• Morocco who became the first African and Arab nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals, will next take on Croatia in the third-place match

Morocco’s exploits at the 2022 FIFA World Cup have drawn praise from many football followers around the world including Portugal’s Rafael Leao.

The Atlas Lions saw their incredible World Cup run in Qatar come to a heartbreaking end after they were defeated in the semi-finals by defending champions France.

Morocco had earlier defeated Belgium and Canada in the group stages, before eliminating Spain in the round of 16 via penalties.

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The African giants also knocked out Rafael Leao’s Portugal in the quarterfinals after a 1-0 win and the AC Milan star quickly took to social media to applaud Morocco’s efforts.

Morocco who made history as the first African country to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup, will next face Croatia in the third-place playoff.

Morocco coach hails players after World Cup exit

Meanwhile, Morocco's fairytale run to the World Cup semifinals came to an end with a 2-0 loss to France, but coach Walid Regragui had nothing but admiration for his team's effort, News24 reports.

The Atlas Lions had battled with injuries to key players before the game which Regragui revealed affected his team a little going into the encounter.

Regragui revealed that Morocco gave their all on the pitch as they fought against the defending World champions until the very last minute.

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France end Morocco World Cup dream

Earlier, Sports Brief reported France ended Morocco's World Cup dream as goals from Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani gave the holders a 2-0 win in their semi-final clash.

France have now set up a showdown on Sunday with Lionel Messi's Argentina.

It looked like France might make short work of their opponents when Hernandez scored inside five minutes at Al Bayt Stadium, despite having a hostile crowd against them.