Is Morocco in Africa? Geography of World Cup semi-finalists explained

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Morocco face France in the World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday evening, and there has been a bit of confusion about the geography surrounding the World Cup stars.

Sofiane Boufal caused some controversy last week when dedicating the country’s victory over Portugal to Arab and Muslims all over the world.

“Thanks to all the Moroccans all over the world for their support, to all Arab people, to all Muslim people. This win belongs to you,” Boufal told beIN Sports.

However, there was some backlash to these comments, as many, rightly, pointed out that Morocco were representing Africa on the world stage, and Boufal made sure to acknowledge the continent, writing on his Instagram story:

“Thanks for being behind us, I dedicate this to you also! We are proud to represent all our brothers on this continent.”

So, why was there this confusion? Let’s take a look at the interesting geography of Morocco.

Is Morocco in Africa?

Morocco is in Africa.

Morocco is in north Africa, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and neighbouring countries such as Algeria.

There is no disputing that the country is on the continent of Africa, but in terms of self-identification things can get rather tricky.

Arab or African?

The majority of Morocco is inhabited by a population that is largely of Arab ethnicity, so there is some element of confusion here.

The lines are blurred even further when you take into account that 14 of the 26 players in this Morocco squad were not born in Morocco and you can understand why some fans have questions about the geography of this nation.

Many Moroccans do identify more with the Arab region rather than Africa – hence the mass support the team are receiving in Qatar and the fact that the squad have celebrated with the Palestinian flag in the past.

However, in terms of football, Morocco do still play under CAF and play in the African Cup of Nations.

Morocco are the first African team to ever reach a World Cup semi-final and will be hoping to become the first to reach a final with a win over France.