“It’s all happened so quickly” | OneFootball

The quarter-final against France, his World Cup journey with Morocco and a scene that he’s often replayed in his head: an interview with Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab.

Jupp, how’s the preparation for the quarter-final against France gone? What’s the mood like in the camp?“The preparation for the match has gone well so far, the mood in the team is great.”

Morocco reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2022 (losing 2-0 against France). Four years later you’re again among the best eight teams. What makes you so special as a team?“We’re just a team with an incredible mentality and a lot of quality. The team are extremely hungry for success.” 

In the first group match you drew 1-1 with Brazil. How many times since have you thought about your chance against goalkeeper Alisson Becker in the ninth minute of stoppage time?“To be honest, I thought about it a lot in the days that followed. For two reasons: first, because it just an awesome feeling to play; and second, because I asked myself whether I could’ve somehow scored, since Alisson was already very close to me at that point.”

In December 2025, you were still playing for Hoffenheim reserves in the third division. Seven months later, you’re playing in a World Cup against Brazil. What was going through your mind?“I wasn’t really thinking about that at all on the pitch – I was fully focused on the game after my substitution. But before that, when I was watching on the bench, I certainly had a lot of thoughts about where I was playing a few months ago and what a great privilege it is to now be having these experiences.” 

When you look back over the last six months, do you sometimes think, ‘This must be a dream’?“Yes, to be honest I can’t properly comprehend it. The move to Eintracht, my first Bundesliga goal and now the World Cup with Morocco. It’s all happened so quickly, I’ll need some time to process it all after the World Cup (laughs).”You’ve been with the national team for several weeks now. How much has the World Cup made you grow as a footballer and person?“A lot, in every respect. It’s a great feeling being here and getting to represent your country at a World Cup. I’m learning a lot from my team-mates every day.”

Since the draw against Brazil, you’ve won against Scotland, Haiti and Canada and beaten Netherlands on penalties. What are we going to see against France?“Exactly what you could see in the games before: a Moroccan team that are determined to win and will leave everything on the pitch to do that. We want to make our country proud again!”