Yes, Morocco Really Did Reach the 2022 World Cup Semi-Finals — And Made History Doing It

Morocco did reach the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar — and it was one of the most remarkable runs in the tournament's history. This is not misinformation. It is a verified, documented fact confirmed by FIFA, BBC Sport, Reuters, and The Guardian, among many others.

Morocco advanced through a genuinely tough path. They topped a group containing Belgium and Croatia, then knocked out Spain on penalties in the round of 16. According to Reuters, they sealed their semi-final spot on December 10, 2022, when Youssef En-Nesyri scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Portugal in the quarter-finals — a team that included Cristiano Ronaldo.

The FIFA Official Website confirms that Morocco became the first African nation ever to reach a World Cup semi-final. The Guardian's match report shows their run ended on December 14, 2022, with a 2-0 loss to France, who went on to reach the final. Morocco then lost the third-place playoff to Croatia, finishing fourth in the world.

BBC Sport notes that the achievement generated enormous celebration across Africa and the Arab world, and rightly so. No team from either continent had ever gone this far. The squad, many of whom were born or raised in Europe, chose to represent Morocco and delivered a performance that rewrote the record books.

This claim circulates not as harmful misinformation but sometimes as a test of memory or as part of broader debates about African football. Because the run was so unexpected and so fast-moving, some people who weren't following closely may have missed or underestimated just how far Morocco went. The facts are clear and well-documented.