Rabat – Despite securing two wins against India and Italy and one tie with Mexico, Morocco’s national e-football team was eliminated in the group stage of the FIFAe Nations Cups in Copenhagen.
The Moroccan selection, which includes Kinane Al Nabhani, Ilyass Mossaid, Ismail Boudebza, qualified for the cup after defeating Kazakhstan in the FIFAe Nations Series 2022.
It is Morocco’s first qualification for the esports tournament with the national team serving as the sole representative of the African continent.
The team competed in the Danish capital on July 27 and 28 against Mexico, Poland, Netherlands, Italy, and India in Group D.
The two-day group phase concluded with Mexico, Poland, and the Netherlands taking the lead with 19 points. Italy came fourth with 13 points, ahead of Morocco with 7 points and India with 5 points.
The first four teams qualified for the second phase of the competition, for a chance to win $400,000 in prize money.
Morocco currently ranks 38th in the global FIFAe ranking with a total of 467.29 points. Meanwhile, the Netherlands leads Group D as it ranks 3rd globally, followed by Mexico in 7th position, Italy 8th, India 18th, and Poland 21st.
Despite Morocco’s lower ranking, the national team defeated India 3-0 and Italy 1-0 on July 28 after securing a 0-0 tie against Mexico on July 27.
As for the remaining games, the Moroccan team lost by one or two points against their peers. The largest defeat was on July 27 against Italy, when the European team won by 0-3.
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Morocco’s Federation of e-Sports lauded the hard work of the national team, stating that “the journey of our youth in the FIFAe Nations Cup ended after an adventure that lasted more than 5 months … in an atmosphere of sportsmanship among all the FIFA community in Morocco.”
The federation further reiterated its commitment to boost esports in Morocco by providing the necessary infrastructure and equipment to assist and discover future champions in the field.
The federation concluded its message by noting that the Moroccan esports teams will participate in the Bali World Championship scheduled for December 1-12, 2022. Morocco will compete in four games; Pub Mobile, CS-Go, Tekken, and eFootball.
As Morocco aspires to build strong esports teams, domestic youth seems motivated to represent their country and make history.
As 17-year-old gamer Kinane Al Nabhani put it, “playing for my country gives me another sensation.”
“It’s very different..because we made history very quickly,” he added, stressing that his patriotism overshadows his personal ambitions.
“I want to do it for my country and not for myself,” Al Nabhani said.
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