President Macron will attend the World Cup semifinal between France and Morocco in Qatar

According to French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera, French President Emmanuel Macron will fly to Qatar to witness the France vs. Morocco World Cup semifinal on Wednesday.

Morocco defeated England 2-1, and the North Africans defeated Portugal 1-0 on Saturday to advance to the event’s final, where they will face the squad of their former colonial masters, who won the tournament in 2018.

According to Oudea-Castera on Franceinfo radio, “the specifics of the trip are still to be worked out, of course, but he had made this pledge.”

If the squad advanced to the semifinals, Macron’s office stated last month that he would hold off on traveling to the World Cup until then.

Morocco’s victory over Portugal and advancement to the World Cup semifinals as the first African or Arab country to do so sparked celebrations in the Arab world as well as in Europe.

No African or Arab nation had advanced past the quarterfinals. The three teams that came closest to making it to the most prestigious tournament’s final four were Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002, and Ghana in 2010.

(Reuters)