Morocco: Rafael van der Vaart raves again about the Atlas Lions

29.06.26 AP World Cup

Netherlands

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Morocco

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Well before the clash between the Netherlands and Morocco in the round of 16 of this 2026 World Cup, Rafael van der Vaart's comments were already making headlines.

Rafael van der Vaart seemed to jinx the Oranje, who were knocked out by Morocco on Monday night. "I don't want to joke, but all the Moroccans who aren't good enough here go play for Morocco. If the Netherlands want to win the tournament, there's nothing to worry about with Morocco," he had declared.

But after the Dutch were eliminated, he made a point of praising the Atlas Lions on Dutch channel NOS. "Honestly, Morocco fully deserves their qualification. The Moroccans were the better team from the first minute. I'm very disappointed, it was a really poor match from our national team. Yes, you take the lead, but then you just hope for luck to get you through. Morocco was better," explained the former attacking midfielder.

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.

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