HIBAPRESS – Sports
Many Arab newspapers and news websites have praised the outstanding performance of the Atlas Lions and their reaching the final of the Youth World Cup in Chile, where they will play a decisive match next Sunday against Argentina with their eyes on winning the cup.
In Saudi Arabia, the newspaper (Okaz) wrote, under the title "Moroccan team writes history in Chile," that the Moroccan team achieved "a historic Arab achievement by reaching the final of the Under-20 World Cup."
As for the newspaper (Al-Bilad), it considered that the Moroccan team achieved a new achievement for Moroccan and Arab football, and showed its strength against France.
It noted the determination and insistence of the Moroccan players throughout the stages of the match before reaching the "penalty kicks, which smiled at the Atlas Lions to pass them to the final of the tournament."
For his part, the website (Al Jazeera Now) wrote about the deserved victory of the Atlas Lions over the French team, pointing out that "with this victory, Morocco reached the final of the Youth World Cup for the first time in its history."
The website (Al-Riyadia) wrote that the Moroccan national team under 20 years old wrote history, by reaching the final of the Youth World Cup Chile 2025 after its victory over its French counterpart.
The newspaper confirmed that "in South American soil, Morocco wrote a new page in its football history," stressing that this achievement was not the result of a coincidence "but the result of a long journey of hard work, strategic vision, and firm belief in the capabilities of a new generation of players," adding that Mohamed Wahbi, the coach of the national team for the youth, succeeded "in formulating a cohesive team that realizes that major achievements require greater discipline, and that high ambitions are built on solid foundations, not on dreams alone."
The "Middle East" news platform wrote that the Moroccan team's qualification is a historic achievement, to continue "the Atlas Lions" writing a new chapter in the journey of Moroccan football, which has witnessed in recent years a qualitative leap in the level of age-group teams and football infrastructure.
The site quoted Arab analysts praising the collective performance of the team, considering that "Generation 2025" represents a model of technical discipline and balanced mental formation, at a time when football is witnessing tangible development at the youth level.
The Lebanese newspaper Al-Nahar wrote under the title "Tears, joy and madness" that the Moroccan team reached the final of the Under-20 World Cup for the first time in its history after a great match on a night "and not more beautiful" for the future players, who will carry the banner after the first team.
The newspaper added that it was "a crazy joy after the end of the match against France" during which it wrote "Morocco's team is written in golden letters."
The newspaper explained that "after the achievement of the first team in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when it became the first African country to reach the semi-finals where it lost to France in particular, and then winning the bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Moroccan national team under 20 years old continued its success with reaching the final for the first time in the World Cup."
Under the title "Morocco achieves a historic achievement and qualifies for the Youth World Cup final for the first time after winning against France on penalties," the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa wrote that the Moroccan national team continued to write history in the Youth World Cup.
The newspaper added that in this tournament held in Chile, it knocked out the French team to qualify for the final match for the first time in its history, to continue a series of achievements for Moroccan football.
In the United Arab Emirates, the newspaper (Al-Ittihad) wrote, under the title "Challenges Argentina in the final… Morocco ousts France out of the Youth World Cup," that the victory of the Moroccan team over its French counterpart enabled it to reach the final of the Youth World Cup for the first time in its history, thus becoming the second Arab team to reach the final match after Qatar in 1981.
The newspaper added that "with this victory, the youth of Morocco avenged the defeat of the first team against France in the same round in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when the team lost 2-0 to meet Croatia in the third-place match, and occupied the fourth place in an Arab and African achievement."
For its part, the portal (Al-Ain News) wrote that the Moroccan team continued to make history in recent years with an exciting achievement by qualifying for the final of the Under-20 Youth World Cup, crowning a successful journey over the last 4 years, with which it turned into a destination for Arab successes in international tournaments at all age levels.
It added that, after Morocco's success during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, in being the first Arab African country to qualify for the semi-finals of the World Cup for adults, the Moroccan national team continued its brilliance in the 2024 Paris Olympics, when it succeeded in snatching the first medal in the history of the Arabs in football competitions, which is the bronze.
It pointed out that, by winning against the French team, the Moroccans were able to book their place in the final match for the first time in their history, thus surpassing their previous achievement of qualifying for the semi-finals in the 2005 Netherlands edition.
For its part, the newspaper (Al-Khaleej), under the title "Morocco enters the history of the Youth World Cup by qualifying for the final and a +green card+," wrote that this card contributed to Morocco's qualification to the final of the Youth World Cup for the first time in its history, after its coach Mohamed Wahbi was the first to use it in the tournament, and through which he won a penalty in the semi-finals against France, and the cancellation of a penalty against Spain.
For its part, the newspaper (Al-Bayan) wrote that, with the end of the regular and extra time of the match with a tie and Morocco's victory on penalties, this Arab team has achieved a historic achievement by qualifying for the final to face Argentina.
It added that the Moroccan team has become, thus, "the first Arab team and the third African team to qualify for the Youth World Cup final after Nigeria and Ghana."
In Jordan, and under the title "In a historic achievement, the Moroccan youth team reaches the World Cup final," the Jordanian newspaper (Roya) wrote "On a night that will remain immortal in the history of Moroccan football, the youth team succeeded in writing history in golden letters, and knocked out its French counterpart on penalties (5-4) after the end of the original and extra time with a 1-1 draw, to book its place in the final of the Under-20 World Cup for the first time in its history."
It added that with this "dramatic victory," the "Atlas Lions" avenged the defeat of the first team in the 2022 World Cup, and presented the Moroccan fans with indescribable joy."
For its part, after the newspaper "Al-Anbat" mentioned the inspiring journey of the "Atlas Lions" in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and its "undeserved" loss in the semi-finals, it pointed out that the youth of Morocco, driven by an ardent ambition, and unwavering insistence, were able to lead their country to the first final in the Under-20 World Cup, and thus entered the history of this global event from its wide gates.
The newspaper "Khubarni" reported that the Moroccan national team "continues the path of victories inside and outside the field, and confirms once again that it is one of the most developed teams in Africa, not only thanks to the skill of its players, but also thanks to the boldness of its technical decisions that are not without creativity.
It pointed out that in a rare incident in the world of football, the coach of the Moroccan team, Mohamed Wahbi, stole the show after becoming the talk of the sports street, after involving three goalkeepers during the semi-final against the French counterpart, adding that "an unusual event confirms his flexibility and intelligence in dealing with difficult circumstances, and his strategic decisions proved their effectiveness."
In Doha, the "BeIN Sports" network headlined on its website "The Moroccan national team continues to write history and crosses to the Under-20 World Cup final", pointing out that the Moroccan national team continues its "remarkable performances" as it will be "on a date with history as it reached the final of the Under-20 World Cup for the first time."
For its part, the newspaper "Al-Araby Al-Jadeed" wrote that the Moroccan national team crossed to the Under-20 World Cup final in a "heroic scene that will remain in the memory of the fans about this football achievement of the Atlas Lions, praising the defensive organization of the Moroccan team and imposing its style of possession on the atmosphere of the match.
It pointed out that the coach's involvement of the second substitute goalkeeper, Abdelhakim Misbahi, surprised everyone "in a bold step that resembles what senior coaches do in major tournaments," where Misbahi succeeded in stealing the show and succeeded in brilliantly blocking one of the decisive kicks, which enabled the Atlas Lions to cross to the final.
For his part, the official website of the "Al Jazeera" network highlighted that "this historic achievement is a big step for Moroccan football, as it makes Morocco the second Arab team to reach the final match after Qatar in 1981, and confirms the capabilities of young talents in the country to compete with the best international teams."
Also, the rest of the local newspapers and websites stopped at the historic achievement of the Atlas Lions, pointing out that the national team aspires, through its fourth participation in the finals of the Under-20 World Cup, to more than just playing the final match, but to win the Youth World Cup.
