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On June the 25th in Kaliningrad, the Atlas Lions faced Spain. It was the last game the two teams played, trying to qualify for the 1962 FIFA World Cup hosted by Chile.
At the time, FIFA regulations gave no chance for Africa in the World cups it organized. The best african team had to face a European team in order to qualify for the tournament.
After leaving Tunisia and Ghana behind, Morocco was meant to face Spain with its Real Madrid stars who won four European champion cups.
The defeat
On November 12th, 1961, the Marcel Cerdan stadium hosted the first match that brought Spain and Morocco together. More than 25 thousand people attended the game. By the end of the 90-minute match, Real Madrid’s star Luis Del Sol scored a goal contributing to the victory of his team.
On the other hand, Morocco had three opportunities (that it missed) to score through Larbi Belmehjoub. The later who played for Nice and Casablanca’s Widad was dreaming of taking part in another World Cup tournament. His first participation dates back to 1954 in Switzerland. Archives consulted by Yabiladi suggest that he scored a goal against Spain in 1954 while playing for France.
In 1961, the Atlas Lions were not lucky enough to secure a ticket for the World Cup in Chile. After their defeat in Casablanca, they lost in front of La Roja in Madrid (3-2). Marcelino, Di Stefano and Collas scored for Spain and Riahni and Larbi Benmabarek scored the two Moroccan goals.
Despite the Atlas Lions' good performance, FIFA has remained firm in its decision, granting no seat to Africa. In 1970, thing changed, during the Mexico World Cup, the international organization finally agreed to reserve one place for the continent.
