Moroccan national team striker Sofiane Boufal managed to attract the attention of millions when he celebrated with his mother the historic victory over Portugal in the quarter-final match of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
After the end of the match, on Saturday evening, Boufal went to the stands to hug and kiss his mother, inviting her to enter the field to dance with her joy in victory.
Boufal’s photo with his mother impressed the fans inside and outside the stadium, and garnered wide emotional participation through various social media platforms.
Moroccan researcher Alem Yahya described the image of the Moroccan player and his mother as “wonderful,” and said on his Facebook page: “Oh, this is not just a picture. This is a mass of beautiful feelings that erupted from the springs of the Moroccan national team, to express the spirit that inhabits Morocco and the beautiful East.”
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Emphasizing that “these images are symbols of values and moral tendency,” Yahya explained: “The images of the players in the bosom of their mothers and fathers, with the smile of a heart full of giving and the joy of the soul, rejoicing in everything beautiful.”
Commenting on the scene of the victorious son and his joyful mother, Moroccan researcher and journalist Mohamed Ahdad wrote on Facebook: “This picture expresses all of our feelings.”
Outside the Moroccan domain, Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Digital Economy and Artificial Intelligence in the UAE, interacted with Boufal’s image, saying: “He who lives as a servant under his mother’s feet lives as a master above the heads of his people.”
And the Emirati minister wrote on Twitter: “Congratulations, Atlas Lions.. A great achievement, and the greatest is how each player represents the morals of Arabs and Muslims in appreciating the mother and sharing all the joys.”
Sultan Al Olama added, “I hope that Hakimi and Bono will become like Cristiano and Messi in fame… and that every football lover will appreciate his mother like them.”
Morocco succeeded in writing a new history for Arab and African football after qualifying for the semi-finals after defeating Portugal, one of the candidates to win the cup, with a goal scored by Youssef Al-Nusairi in the 42nd minute.
Morocco became the third team from outside Europe and South America to qualify for the semi-finals of the World Cup, after the United States in 1930 and South Korea in 2002.
Morocco will meet in the Golden Square, next Wednesday, with the defending champion, France.