“I love Korea”…Moroccan fans ‘thank’ KFA on social media

“Thank you for making our dreams come true.”

Moroccan soccer fans took to the Korean Football Association’s social media to express their gratitude after South Korea drew with Germany and Morocco advanced to their first-ever round of 16 at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia-New Zealand 2023.

The Korea Women’s National Team, led by head coach Colleen Bell, drew 1-1 with world No. 2 Germany in the final Group H match of the tournament at Brisbane Stadium in Australia on Wednesday (Aug. 3).

South Korea (1W, 2L, 1D, -3G) finished last, while Germany (4W, +5G) also failed to qualify for the round of 16 in third place, leaving Colombia (+2G) and Morocco (-4G) with two wins apiece.

If South Korea had lost to Germany, all three teams would have finished with the same number of points and would have been ranked on goal difference. That would have meant that Morocco, who were well behind Germany on goal difference, would have been eliminated in third place.

However, South Korea, who were expected to lose, scored the first goal and took the lead before drawing 1-1, while Morocco also defeated Colombia 1-0 to complete the ‘Miracle of the Round of 16’.

It was the first time Morocco reached the main round of the World Cup and the first time they reached the round of 16 at the main stage.

After the final group game, the Korea Football Association’s social media post of the Korea-Germany match result suddenly began to receive comments in foreign languages. It was a ‘relay comment’ ceremony by Moroccan fans.

In English, Moroccan fans wrote, “Thank you Korea,” “Much love from Morocco,” “Good fight Korea,” “Thank you for giving us a chance to advance to the round of 16,” and so on.

A similar situation occurred at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The men’s national soccer team defeated the “Chariots of Fire” Germany 2-0 in the third match of Group F at the time. South Korea finished tied with Germany with one win and two losses, but due to goal differential, South Korea finished third and Germany fourth.

Meanwhile, Sweden (2 W, 1 D, +3 Goal Differential) defeated Mexico (2 W, 1 D, -1 Goal Differential) in the final game to win the group.

If South Korea had lost to Germany, Mexico would have been eliminated on goal difference, but thanks to South Korea holding off Germany, Mexico finished second in the group and advanced to the Round of 16.

At the time, Mexican fans expressed their gratitude on social media with the hashtag “Thanks Korea,” and some fans even gathered in front of the Korean Embassy in Mexico to cheer. 토토사이트