DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The final day of the round of 16 concludes Tuesday at the World Cup when Morocco faces Spain, and Portugal goes head-to-head with Switzerland for the final two spots in the quarterfinals.
The results will be decided on the field, but for Spain and Morocco, the game will be played against the backdrop of the long and complex relationship between two border nations separated by the Strait of Gibraltar.
As neighboring nations, there are ties between the two teams, and many of Morocco’s players speak Spanish and the team’s medical staff is Spanish.
Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou and striker Youssef En-Nesyri both play in Spain for Sevilla, right back Achraf Hakimi, a Paris Saint-Germain player, was born in Madrid, and coach Walid Regragui played in Spain with Racing Santander.
The team’s also met in the World Cup just four years ago in the final group game in 2018, a 2-2 draw.
As Morocco advanced through this tournament, the national team captivated both its fans at home and Qatari, Saudi and Tunisians fans in Doha as the last Arab team still playing.
“Everyone wants to come to Doha,” said Regragui, who became coach in August. “We could fill two stadiums.”
Morocco is trying to secure its first appearance in the quarterfinals. The Atlas Lions topped Group F with a draw against Croatia, followed by wins over Belgium and Canada to reach the knockout round for the first time since 1986.
Not a single player on the current squad was born the last time Morocco advanced this deep into the tournament, and its run in Qatar has been a national source of pride back home.
Spain opened the World Cup with a 7-0 win over Costa Rica, followed by a 1-1 draw with Germany. The 2-1 loss to Japan in the final game of group play was tense as La Roja fluctuated between in and out of advancing into the next round because its fate was also tied to other results.
“The match against Japan has to serve as a lesson for what is to come. Luckily, that defeat has been resolved and we are clear about what we have to do,” Gavi said. “We are in the round of 16 and there are some very good teams that haven’t been able to do it. That’s why we have to really think that pressure is a privilege.”
The loss to Japan snapped a seven-game unbeaten streak for Spain and got the attention of its players.
“We are not going to lose focus on the goal, which is to win the World Cup,” Gavi said. “We are going to look for it by being faithful to what we have been doing all these years. It would be a mistake to give up everything we believe in.”
Spain also met Morocco in the teams’ final group game in 2018, which ended 2-2.
Morocco is trying to match the longest unbeaten run by an African team at the World Cup, a record set by Cameroon, which went unbeaten for five games between 1982 and 1990.
“We didn’t come just to say ‘oh, we almost got close’,” Regragui said. “We need to get the results as all the European or South American teams do. We need to emulate them.”
