drew with Bulgaria 1–1, with a comeback goal in the sixtieth game of Maouhoub Ghazouani. It was the first point obtained by an African national team at the World Cup. In the 1972 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, the Lions of the Atlas ousted Algeria, then they faced Egypt, beating them 3–0 in the first leg and suffering a 3–2 defeat on the way back, yet they qualified for the first time for the final phase of the continental tournament. In the group stage, they accumulated three 1–1 draws against Congo, Sudan and Zaire and were eliminated in the first round. All three Moroccan goals were by Ahmed Faras. Qualifying for the 1972 Olympics with two wins and two draws, Morocco debuted in Group A with a goalless draw against the United States, then lost 3–0 against hosts West Germany and defeated Malaysia 6–0 with a Faras hat-trick, thereby advancing to the second round. Due to defeats against USSR (3–0), Denmark (3–1) and Poland (5–0), they were eliminated from the tournament; finishing bottom of their group. To date, this result remains the best performance of the Atlas Lions at the Olympic football tournament. In the 1974 world cup qualifiers, Morocco successfully passed three qualifying rounds before entering the final round alongside Zambia and Zaire. Losing 4–0 away against Zambia, the Moroccans bounced back in the second game, defeating the same opponent 2–0 at home. They then went to Zaire for their third game but lost 3–0, conceding all three goals in the second half, with Faras leaving the field due to injury. Morocco filed an appeal, trying to get the match to be replayed; it was dismissed by FIFA. In protest, Morocco withdrew from the qualifiers causing the Atlas Lions to miss their final game at home against Zaire which had already qualified for the finals, with FIFA awarding Zaire a 2–0 win on walkover. For the same reason, Morocco also decided not to take part in the 1974 African Cup of Nations qualification. In 1974, Morocco played only two games, both against Algeria, achieving a 2–0 win and a 0–0 draw. Morocco then resumed its regular FIFA and CAF competitions, qualifying for the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations by eliminating Ghana in the last round, but failed to qualify for the 1976 Olympics, being eliminated by Nigeria. Between successes and defeats (1976–1986) Morocco, coached by the Romanian Virgil Mărdărescu