and captained by Faras, took the continental throne at 1976 African Cup of Nations, in his second participation in the competition. Ahmed Makrouh scored the goal of the final match to equalize at 1–1, which gave Morocco the first, and to date, only cup in its history. After failing to qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, they also did not make 1978 and 1982. At the 1978 Africa Cup of Nations, they were eliminated in the first round, while at the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations they won third place, beating Egypt 2–0. They then won the 1983 Mediterranean Games, played at home, thanks to a 3–0 success in the final against Turkey B. Morocco did not qualify for either the 1982 or 1984 Africa Cup of Nations. At the 1986 Africa Cup of Nations, they finished fourth, beaten 3–2 in the consolation final by the Ivory Coast. Golden Generation (1986–2000) Morocco qualified for the 1986 FIFA World Cup which took place in Mexico, and surprisingly won a group with Portugal, England and Poland, thanks to two draws against the English and Polish and a 3–1 win against the Portuguese. However, they were narrowly eliminated by West Germany in the first knockout round, thanks to a goal from Lothar Matthäus one minute from the end of regulation time. Morocco became the first African and Arab national team to have passed the first round of the World Cup. Two years later, the Moroccan team presented itself at the 1988 African Cup of Nations as a host country with high expectations. After winning the first round, they were eliminated in the semifinals by Cameroon and finished in fourth place after losing the consolation final against Algeria (1–1 after extra time and 4–3 after the penalty shots). Failure to qualify for the 1990 FIFA World Cup opened a period of crisis. In the 1992 African Cup of Nations, the team was eliminated in the first round. They then did not participate in the 1994 or 1996 African Cup tournaments. They, however, did qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the United States and the 1998 tournament in France. At the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations, after winning their group, Morocco were defeated and eliminated from South Africa (2–1). Difficult years (2006–2017) Morocco took part in the 2004 African Cup of Nations, drawn into Group D defeating Nigeria 1–0, defeating Benin 4–0 and