The Morocco national football team, nicknamed "the Atlas Lions", represents Morocco in men's international football competitions. It is controlled by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, also known as FRMF. The team's colours are red and green. The team is a member of both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Internationally, Morocco won the 1976 African Cup of Nations, two African Nations Championships, and a FIFA Arab Cup. They have participated in the FIFA World Cup six times. They made history in 1986, when they became the first African team to finish top of a group at a World Cup and the first to reach knockout stages. However, they lost to eventual runners-up West Germany 1–0. Morocco defied all expectations at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, topping their group containing previous runners-up Croatia, and defeating high ranking teams such as Belgium, Spain, and Portugal. They thus became the first African nation to ever reach the semi-finals and the third ever semi-finalist not from UEFA or CONMEBOL (after the United States in 1930 and South Korea in 2002). They were knocked out by defending champions and eventual runners-up France, and placed fourth, their highest ever finish. The Atlas Lions were ranked 10th in the FIFA World Rankings in April 1998. They were ranked by FIFA as the top African national team for three consecutive years, from 1997 to 1999. As of December 2022, Morocco is ranked as the 11th best national team in the world. History Pre-independence period The Moroccan national team was founded in 1928 and played its first game on 22 December of that year against the B team of France, to whom it lost 2–1. This team, formed by the best footballers of the LMFA or the Moroccan Football League (settlers or natives), was active in friendly matches against other North African teams such as those of Algeria and Tunisia. These associations of settler clubs and local footballers, in addition to having their own championship, clashed with each other in a tournament that Morocco won several times, such as in 1948–1949. The LMFA also faced some club teams such as NK Lokomotiva Zagreb in January 1950, as well as France A and France B. Against France A the LMFA made a 1–1 draw in Casablanca in 1941. On 9 September 1954, an earthquake struck the Algerian region of Orléansville (now Chlef) and caused the destruction of the