“A non-stop player”.. The journey of “Atlas Lion” from the womb of suffering to the champion of Morocco in Qatar

Morocco made history in the history books and pulled off another big surprise by reaching the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup, the first of its kind for an Arab or African team, beating former European champions Portugal 1-0 in the quarter-finals in Qatar today, Saturday. .

Moroccan striker Youssef Al-Nusairi scored the only goal of the match with a header from close range after Yahya Atiyatallah’s cross in the 42nd minute.

Al-Nusairi towered over Portuguese defender and goalkeeper Diogo Costa and headed home from close range, igniting celebrations from the delighted fans at the Al-Thumama Stadium.

After the wonderful goal, which touched the record of the star Cristiano Ronaldo, the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) published the story of the Moroccan player Youssef Al-Nusairi and followed the path of the Moroccan striker who became the champion of the national team.

En-Nesiri became the first Moroccan player to score in two editions of the World Cup, with the striker scoring the only winner against Portugal in the quarter-finals at Qatar 2022.

Moroccan striker Youssef Al-Nusairi made history twice during the World Cup in Qatar, the first time when he scored against Canada to become the first Moroccan player to score in two different editions of the tournament, and the second time when he led the Atlas Lions to the semi-finals with his with a goal against Portugal.

Al-Nusairi has raised his total of goals in the history of the World Cup to three, and he still has at least two games, the semi-finals and the final, that is, the selection for third place, which means that the number can be increased, but it is only a stop on the road that has begun years ago from the womb of suffering and will continue until the next. According to FIFA.

beginning

The player, born on June 1, 1997, did not grow up in any of the youth training centers in Europe, but is a pure local production in Morocco, and he started his career on the streets and alleys of his city, Fez, before joining the Maghreb Club from Fez and then, during the 2010-2011 season, to the Mohammed VI Football Academy. Specializing in the discovery and development of talents and facilitating their transfer to Europe.

The Moroccan-French coach, Nasser Larquette, was the academy’s technical supervisor from its inauguration in 2009 until he left in 2014 to work again in France. During his stay there, he followed numerous players, the most famous of whom are Hamza Mandil and Anas Nawader.

Departure for Europe

Al-Nusiri continued with the Mohamed Al-Fateh academy until 2015, when scouts from Spanish club Malaga snapped him up on a season-long loan, before the deal turned into a permanent transfer the following summer for €125,000 ($131,000). . The player spent the first season in the reserve team, and in the 2016-2017 season. became the first team under the leadership of coach Michel, a former star of Real Madrid.

Al-Nusairi played 41 official games for Malaga in all competitions, scoring just five goals, and decided to leave when they were relegated to the second division in Spain at the end of the 2017-18 season.

The most important step

The young striker joined Leganes in the summer of 2018 for ten million euros ($10.5 million), thus becoming the most expensive deal in the club’s history, as well as among his Moroccan compatriots.

The beginning was not good at all, but the second half of the first season brought a revolution in events, scoring 11 goals in 34 games.

In the second season, he played 18 games in the Spanish league, in which he scored four goals and assisted two goals, and in January he was at the end of the road with Leganes.

playing with adults

Al-Nusiri’s incredible brilliance and his young age led Sevilla to invest in him, with the club paying 20 million euros ($21 million) for his services in January 2020.

The Moroccan player won the first title of his career when he was crowned at the end of the 2019-2020 season. in the European League, and he contributed to the achievement by scoring two goals, and with them he scored four goals in 18 matches in the Spanish league.

The forward, who has great ability inside the penalty area, whether on the ground or in the air, has so far played 122 games for the Andalusian side in all competitions, scoring 37 goals and assisting three goals.

Al-Nusairi has previously spoken about his wonderful club career, indicating that it has not been without problems and obstacles, as he wrote on Instagram, “Achieving good things in your life is a beautiful thing, but achieving it by going around all the various obstacles makes make him more beautiful. Proud of my early beginnings and who I am today, I will continue to work to make the people who always believed in me happy. Don’t let anything or anyone discourage you on your way to a better future. Work, perseverance, humility and commitment to duty (…) There is no other way.”

Asad does not stop

Al-Nusairi began his national team career with an appearance against Albania in a friendly under coach Hervé Renard, after which he was called up to represent the Atlas Lions at the 2017 African Cup of Nations, during which he scored a goal against Ići.

Luck helped him to be with Morocco at the 2018 World Cup in Russia after being named in the squad in place of defender Badr Bannoun, and he made good use of the opportunity to score against Spain in the final group stage match.

Since the beginning of his international career, Al-Nusiri has played 54 matches with Morocco and scored 16 goals, the last of which was the most valuable as it enabled Morocco to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar.

New beginning

Al-Nusiri’s current season at Sevilla is not going well as he has scored just two goals in the Champions League, and this has opened the door to debate over the value of his presence with the Atlas Lions at the Qatar wedding.

Coach Walid Al-Rakraki defended his striker a lot and confirmed that he is the main striker, and those words seem to have had a magical effect on the player who regained much of his form and managed to score two goals during the tournament, which played a decisive role in the semifinals.

The national coach said: “Only coaches like me appreciate Al-Nusairi’s talent. He is a talent and a world-class player who implements what I ask of him. Therefore, he has retained his primary position not only with me, but also with the coaches who preceded me He is a player whose services are irreplaceable in the team.”

After his exceptional level in the tournament, the coach came back and praised him saying, when asked about the brilliance of Sofiane Amrabat and Salim Amlah, “Every player has a role in the team. There are those who sacrifice a lot, and I would like to talk about Al-Nusiri here, who makes an excellent effort and only those like me know his value.”

This level of prominence could be a new starting point for the 25-year-old, either with his club Sevilla or any other club that could join him in the next winter transfer window.

Morocco, who participated in the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time in their history, will play France, the defending champions, in the semi-finals.

In the second semi-final match, Argentina will play against Croatia.