A couple of months into his career in Italy’s Serie A, Sofyan Amrabat had already gained a reputation.
One day, it was put to Ivan Juric, his coach at Verona, the club who bought him from Bruges, that the then 23-year-old was so industrious, so seldom substituted, his diary so stacked with trips with Morocco across Africa, that he must be ready for a break.
“Give him a rest?” exclaimed Juric. “Sofyan would stay on the pitch until he passed out. And he’s that important to us.”
Amrabat’s stamina, self-sacrifice and vital responsibilities were, until about three weeks ago, the shared secret mainly of Italy’s top division, some clubs in the Netherlands and Belgium, and anybody who had studied the short period of Walid Regragui’s time managing Morocco. During this World Cup, Amrabat has made himself a star, coveted by Premier League heavyweights, considered the ideal anchor midfielder.
He is the motor of a Morocco side who on Wednesday night take on the World Cup holders, France, for a place in the final.
The opponents tamed by Ambrabat so far read like a who’s who of the game’s celebrated creators: Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard of Belgium; Pedri of Spain; Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva of Portugal.
Next up for the enforcer and on-field strategist of the Atlas Lions? France’s Antoine Griezmann, with whom Amrabat can one day compare notes when they reminisce about Qatar 2022’s various surprise storylines, and about what it takes to master new disciplines as a footballer and make service to the team your priority ahead of your flashier instincts.
Regragui, Morocco’s coach, namechecked Griezmann as a principal threat to the remarkable run of his team – one goal conceded in five games – because of his “excellence moving between the lines”.
Griezmann, a striker throughout his career and six goals shy of becoming Atletico Madrid’s all-time highest goalscorer, has reinvented his role at short notice for Les Bleus. He has made the territory at the front of midfield a platform for him being considered as player of the tournament.
Amrabat would be in the conversation for that award, too, and the duel to command their area of the pitch looks key to tonight’s semi-final.
Certainly, Regragui hopes to wake up on Wednesday without the same news he heard ahead of the quarter-final against Portugal, when Morocco’s physiotherapists reported they had been up until 3am working with Amrabat to soothe his acute back and muscle pain. “They asked if I was able to play,” Amrabat revealed after the 1-0 win. “I couldn’t let the team and the country down.”
He was needed all the more, given he had to protect a defence that, by the end of the quarter-final, was missing three members of Regragui’s first choice back four. By the time the final whistle had ushered Morocco into the World Cup’s last four, Amrabat had taken his total of ball recoveries to 41 in the tournament, more than any other player ahead of the semis.
Morocco v Portugal player ratings
MOROCCO RATINGS: Yassine Bounou - 9, Made a whole host of impressive saves, stopping Joao Felix’s header, catching Raphael Guerreiro’s cross under pressure from Bruno Fernandes, making an outstanding save to deny Felix, then holding Cristiano Ronaldo’s strike at the second attempt.
Reuters
Achraf Hakimi - 8, Defended brilliantly in one-on-one situations against Felix. Was also involved in some lovely link-up play but wasn’t afraid to get rid when required. Made a superb burst up the pitch and had the intelligence to win a free-kick at the end of it. AFP
Jawad El Yamiq - 9, Put in a herculean display, doing well to block Guerreiro’s shot and getting just enough on his deflection off Felix’s shot for it to go off target. Made a heroic header in extra time. AFP
Romain Saiss - 8, Was a true leader for his team and got up impressively to clear Ruben Dias’ long pass forward. Valiantly played on as long as he could before succumbing to his injury. AP
Yahya Attiat-Allah - 9, Having already got forward well a few times, delivered the inviting cross for Youssef En Nesyri’s opener – although he did miss the target from a good opportunity. Defended brilliantly throughout, especially against Diogo Dalot. AFP
Azzedine Ounahi - 8, Showed a cool head in every situation and was brilliant on the ball, notably moving it out to Attiat-Allah in the build-up to the opener. Hit a shot horribly high and wide. Getty
Sofyan Amrabat - 9, Did a brilliant job of winning the ball and moving it, as epitomised when he regained possession in the opposition’s half and passed to Hakim Ziyech, who won a corner. Stepped up at vital times as Portugal pursued an equaliser. AFP
Selim Amallah - 6, Showed intent throughout but brought a disappointing end to a couple of brilliant moves, with a poor touch ending one before he conjured a horrible shot off target from another. AFP
Hakim Ziyech - 7, Cut inside Otavio well but dragged his ambitious shot wide. Then got involved more and provided some lovely touches in tight areas while also helping out defensively. Brilliant free-kick delivery made things awkward for Diogo Costa. Reuters
Youssef En Nesyri - 8, Sent an early header over the crossbar under little pressure, headed off target from Ziyech’s free-kick, but came up big at the third attempt when he beat Diogo Costa to reach Attiat-Allah’s cross. Also put in a lot of great work to help defensively. Getty
Sofiane Boufal - 7, Showed a willingness to work hard for his team as well as displaying quality, as was epitomised by the trick near his own corner flag to maintain possession and win a free-kick, then again when he pickpocketed Cristiano Ronaldo on the edge of the box. AFP
SUBS: Achraf Dari (Saiss, 58’) - 7, Was forced to sprint back and chase Felix almost immediately after coming on but did it brilliantly. Kept Ramos away from Bruno Fernandes’ cross well. Booked for a heavy challenge on Rafael Leao. AP
Walid Cheddira (Amallah, 65’) - 3, Made a good defensive header but couldn’t quite get through at the end of a brilliant counter. Should have left the ball when Amrabat played it through and was then sent off after receiving two yellow cards in as many minutes.
AP
Badr Benoun (En Nesyri, 65’) - 8, Made a strong header to clear Leao’s cross and guarded Bounou as he gathered Ronaldo’s shot after making the initial save. Headed away Fernandes’ ball superbly.
Reuters
Zakaria Aboukhlal (Ziyech, 81’) – N/R, Constantly hassled the Portuguese defence but couldn’t dink the ball past Costa after racing through. EPA
Yahya Jabrane (Boufal, 82’) – N/R, Was saved by Bono after his poor pass resulted in a threatening Felix shot but help edhis team see out the game. AP
PORTUGAL RATINGS: Diogo Costa - 6, Gathered Boufal’s shot convincingly but was outjumped by En Nesyri as he scored the winner. Did well to keep out Ziyech’s free-kick and stop Aboukhlal. AFP
Diogo Dalot - 7, Made a great challenge to stop Attiat-Allah’s cross, but the Moroccan full-back ended up having far more joy down that side in the first half, before Dalot put in a strong display in the second half. Did brilliantly to stop Cheddira getting through. AFP
Pepe - 5, Showed intent with his passing but there wasn’t always the quality to match, while he headed wide from a brilliant opportunity in the final moments. AFP
Ruben Dias - 6, Had looked dominant in the air in both boxes before seemingly ducking out when En Nesyri scored the opener, likely expecting his goalkeeper to gather the ball. Put in a great tackle to stop Ziyech breaking forward. AFP
Raphael Guerreiro - 6, Saw a powerful effort blocked and played a good pass for Felix’s chance but struggled defensively against Ziyech. EPA
Bernardo Silva - 6, Was happy to accept the ball under pressure and played a great pass to get Felix into a one-on-one. Picked out Fernandes brilliantly for his chance and couldn’t quite get enough on the free-kick pass to turn it goalwards. AFP
Ruben Neves - 6, Did the basics well on the ball but struggled to keep up with Morocco’s midfield at times, as was epitomised when he resorted to pulling back Ounahi. AFP
Otavio - 7, Took up good positions and picked his moments to progress. Turned brilliantly and provided an inviting cross for Goncalo Ramos’ chance. However, he went down very dramatically at times. EPA
Bruno Fernandes - 6, Always worked hard and but the quality of his passing varied. Hit the crossbar with an audacious effort, then fired over from a promising position. Couldn’t quite execute his pass to Bernardo Silva. Getty
Goncalo Ramos - 4, Having been the star man against Switzerland, it was easy to forget that Ramos was on the pitch at times as Morocco’s defence marshalled him well. Headed wide from a great opportunity. AFP
Joao Felix - 6, Had an early header saved, a shot deflected off El Yamiq before sailing narrowly wide and a first-time effort that he completely wasted. Had some poor touches and struggled in one-on-ones against Hakimi. His brilliant shot was denied by Bounou. AFP
SUBS: Joao Cancelo (Guerreiro, 51’) - 6, Provided some moments of quality but often found himself being matched by Hakimi, Ziyech or both. His ball into the box was just too high for Dias.
Getty
Cristiano Ronaldo (Neves, 51’) - 6, Was involved immediately but his cross was gathered by Bono. Pickpocketed by Boufal as he lined up a shot before being denied by Bono after racing through.
Getty
Rafael Leao (Ramos, 69’) - 6, Showed immediate intent and lured Dari into getting a yellow card, then delivered a brilliant cross that Pepe should have scored from.
AP
Vitinha (Otavio, 69’) - 6, Played plenty of nice passes but none that notably progressed the play for Portugal. Booked for a late challenge on Ounahi
AP
Ricardo Horta (Dalot, 80’) – N/R, His first pass went straight to a Moroccan and he didn’t improve much, failing to get much out of Attiyat-Allah.
AFP
Those marshalling qualities have been noted since – as his older brother Nordin, a former Morocco international, reports – Sofyan reshaped his game from attacking playmaker to a deeper midfielder. “His idols used to be Zidane and Iniesta,” Nordin Amrabat told L’Equipe, “then he started studying Yaya Toure and Thiago Motta.”
At Feyenoord and Bruges, two previous clubs, he would often be asked to combine vigilance with his sharp pace, to man-mark, in wide roles, quick opposition wingers or full-backs. At Fiorentina, who bought Amrabat from Verona two years ago, the coach in his first season there, Cesare Prandelli, praised his “unusual qualities, and his fantastic engine”.
When Regragui visited Florence to watch Amrabat in club action in September, he told him he wanted to build Morocco’s World Cup tactics around him. And that, as possession would be conceded to the opposition where necessary, that tireless engine would be thoroughly worked.
At about the same time, France manager Didier Deschamps was formulating a novel tactical switch for Griezmann. Midfield generals were suddenly vanishing from Les Bleus’ World Cup road map, N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba long-term injured, and Deschamps reassessed the versatility of his most trusted outfield player.
He observed that Griezmann, who has moved back and forth between Atletico and Barcelona since he played his influential attacking role in the last World Cup, “changes position well, and when he finds himself in a midfield triangle, it’s no problem for him”.
In Qatar, France have found him adapting diligently to all points of that triangle. In a scenario few would have foreseen, they find Griezmann and Pogba’s stand-in, Adrien Rabiot, have so far made more tackles than any other Frenchman. Griezmann, operating behind the front three, also set up both goals in the 2-1 quarter-final win against England.
“Antoine has that mentality of great players, to be there when they’re needed,” purred Deschamps, echoing the thoughts of his Moroccan counterpart, Regragui, about the essential, inexhaustible Sofyan Amrabat.