US Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated the Moroccan national team on Saturday, December 10, 2022, for qualifying for the semifinals of the World Cup currently being held in Qatar, at the expense of the Portuguese national team.

Blinken wrote in his tweet: "Africa is making history and taking the lead both on and off the field." He added: "On the eve of the US-Africa Leaders Summit, I congratulate the Atlas Lions on their win today, they have become the first African and Arab team to reach the World Cup semifinals," adding the hashtag "Dima Morocco‬⁩".

This comes as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated the Moroccan national team on the occasion of achieving "the achievement of reaching the World Cup semifinals" in a tweet in Arabic on his Twitter account on Saturday, December 10, 2022.

Erdoğan said: "I congratulate from the bottom of my heart the Moroccan national team, which is the first African team to achieve the achievement of reaching the World Cup semifinals." He added: "I also congratulate all our Moroccan brothers on this achievement."

Morocco achieves a historic victory

After defeating Portugal by one goal to zero in the Qatar 2022 World Cup, Morocco became the first Arab and African team to qualify for the World Cup semifinals.

At the same time, Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Zayed, son of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, President of the UAE, congratulated Morocco on the historic victory over the Portuguese national team, saying in a tweet on Twitter: "Congratulations Morocco.. Congratulations Atlas Lions.. Once again you have created joy and made your fans happy in every Arab home and around the world.. Today, with your determination, the dream grows of making an exceptional Arab achievement on the soil of sister Qatar."

Also, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, wrote on Twitter as well: "No voice is louder than the voice of Morocco in the World Cup.. Congratulations to all Arabs for achieving the Arab dream through the Atlas Lions of Morocco."

In this context, Jordanian Crown Prince Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II congratulated the Moroccan national team on qualifying for the semifinals of the World Cup, at the expense of their Portuguese counterpart (1-0) on Saturday in Qatar. He posted via the "story" feature on Instagram Saturday evening a photo of the moment Morocco scored against Portugal and commented: "Atlas Lions make history, congratulations on the victory."

Joy spreads across the Arab world

The joy spread anew across the Arab countries on Saturday evening as the Moroccan national team passed the Portugal station with a historic qualification in the World Cup hosted by Qatar.

The Arab countries had previously witnessed similar joy after the "Atlas Lions" defeated their Spanish counterparts in a penalty shootout three goals to none.

Meanwhile, videos circulated on Twitter highlighting the great joy of the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani after the Atlas Lions’ victory.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh said via his Twitter account: "A thousand congratulations to the Moroccan national team for the historic qualification to the World Cup semifinals."

Meanwhile, Saudi Sports Minister Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal congratulated Morocco tweeting: "A thousand congratulations to the brotherly Moroccan national team, and to Arab football, for this historic achievement of qualifying for the World Cup semifinals."

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ambassador Ahmed Aboul Gheit also congratulated the Atlas Lions in a tweet, saying: "Heartfelt congratulations to Morocco on the honorable victory of the national team and the historic qualification to the semifinals."

After watching the match from the Qatari embassy tent in Amman, Jordan’s Speaker of the House of Representatives Ahmed Safadi congratulated, saying that "Morocco’s victory planted joy in Jordanian homes and raised the heads of all Arabs," according to the official Jordanian news agency.

Qatari Minister of Culture Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al Thani also said in a tweet: "We congratulate the Moroccan national team on this historic victory over Portugal (May) the Atlas Lions’ advancement to the semifinals has delighted the fans and confirmed that they are the Lions of the Arabs, and this pleases us in Qatar."

After defeating Portugal by one goal to zero in the Qatar 2022 World Cup on Saturday, Morocco became the first Arab and African team to qualify for the World Cup semifinals and the first African team to reach the World Cup quarterfinals since 2010.

It is also the fourth African team to reach the World Cup quarterfinals, after Cameroon 1990, Senegal 2002, and Ghana 2010.