Morocco’s inspired run remains an outlier in a tournament that has only reinforced the status quo when it comes to true World Cup contenders.
AL RAYYAN, Qatar — Saudi Arabia stunned Argentina on the third day of the tournament. Then Japan beat Germany, Tunisia held Denmark and Canada outplayed second-ranked Belgium in an unlucky loss. It seemed at that point like this unconventional World Cup—crammed into the middle of the European club season with scant time to prepare, and into this tiny country with scant soccer tradition—would deliver a historic haul of surprising results.
And it has, as long as one understands what constitutes a “surprise” in the elitist environment of FIFA’s World Cup.