.Between Diaz, Onahi, and Diop .. "The psychology of results" controls the images of the champions. | Dimalions
Between Diaz, Onahi, and Diop .. "The psychology of results" controls the images of the champions.
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Sport
Between Diaz, Onahi, and Diop .. "The psychology of results" controls the images of the champions.
Hesspress Sports·
The path taken by the Moroccan national team in the 2026 World Cup has brought to the forefront a discussion that goes beyond the technical aspects of the matches, extending to the nature of the fans' reactions to the individual performances of the players. With each match, a new wave of opinions and impressions forms on social media, oscillating between praise and criticism, depending on the result or a single moment within the green rectangle; while specialists in sports psychology describe this behavior as "the psychology of results," where the final outcome becomes the framework that guides the audience's interpretation of all preceding events.
The matches of the "Atlas Lions" in the World Cup provide live examples of this phenomenon; Ibrahim Diaz became a topic of conversation among followers after his remarkable performance against Brazil and Scotland, before his stock fell among the majority of fans in subsequent matches where he did not show the same effectiveness. Similarly, Aissa Diop experienced the same trajectory, finding himself under pressure from criticism after a poor pass that nearly disrupted the team against Brazil, only to transition to the forefront of public praise immediately after scoring the equalizer against the Netherlands at a crucial moment, a goal that brought Morocco back into the game and opened the door to qualification for the next round.
The same scene accompanied Azeddine Ounahi, who faced a significant amount of criticism during the group stage, before the tone of comments changed as he regained his presence in midfield and increased his influence on the rhythm of play. These transformations reveal that the football public reacts more to the current image than to the overall performance, leading to rapid changes in judgments, with sports figures moving from the circle of criticism to the circle of celebration, or vice versa, within a short period.
Amid this interaction, many artistic roles pass without receiving the same level of attention. Bilal El Khannous stands out among the players who have made a significant impact in the tactical system of the national team, through continuous movement, pressing the opponent, securing connections between lines, and contributing to ball progression and building attacks.
Despite this contribution, the presence of the Stuttgart player in digital discussions remained limited compared to teammates whose names were associated with goals or decisive passes; this reflects the audience's tendency to link evaluation to the last scene that remains etched in memory more than the details of the collective work that precedes the result.
This phenomenon translates the nature of the relationship that has developed between football and social media, where the pace of issuing judgments accelerates with each match, and emotion intertwines with analysis in shaping public opinion in sports. Between today's praise and tomorrow's criticism, the national team continues to write an exceptional chapter in the World Cup, while the audience, in turn, continues to reshape its narrative of the heroes with each whistle of the start and end.
Hicham El Amrani, the former Moroccan international player, stated that the significant interaction exhibited by Moroccan fans with the national team's matches in the 2026 World Cup falls within the natural behavior of a supporter, who links their evaluation of football performance more to the final result than to the technical or tactical aspects of the match, noting that victory directly reflects on the general mood and generates a state of collective joy that transcends the boundaries of the green rectangle.
El Amrani explained, in a statement to the Hespress electronic newspaper, that the victory achieved by the national team provides fans with positive psychological energy, producing, in his words, "the happiness hormone," which explains the celebratory manifestations witnessed in the streets and public squares after each victory, where Moroccans share feelings of pride and honor within families and among friends and loved ones, stemming from the status of the national team in the collective consciousness.
In detailing the psychological phenomenon, the same sports analyst confirmed that the audience does not approach matches with the mentality of an analyst or coach, but rather with the emotion of a supporter who seeks victory above all else; thus, reactions change rapidly according to results, with praise turning to criticism and vice versa based on what the match produces in events.
The speaker continued: "When the national team wins, everything seems positive in the eyes of the fans, while any unsatisfactory result leads to directing criticism towards players who did not deliver the expected level, whether due to wasting opportunities, committing defensive errors, or mishandling certain details of the match, while players who make a difference receive widespread praise after each victory."
In this context, the same Moroccan international noted that what surprises him is not the reactions of the fans, as they remain understandable given the nature of support, but rather the tendency of some analysts and technicians to follow the emotional judgments circulating on social media, despite their role requiring them to provide a professional reading based on technical analysis and tactical facts, away from the influence of the result alone.
Hicham El Amrani also addressed the difference between a supporter and a sports analyst, clarifying that the audience views the match through the lens of victory and immediate joy, while the profession of analysis requires reading the details of the match, interpreting the technical choices, and highlighting both positive and negative aspects objectively, in a way that provides the audience with a deeper understanding of what transpired on the field.
In response to questions from Hespress regarding the impact of this fan interaction on players' performance and psychology, the speaker pointed out that this varies according to each player's personality and level of professional maturity, noting that criticism can serve as a positive motivator for a player to double their efforts and regain their true level, while it can also become a negative factor for a player who lacks self-confidence or suffers from mental fragility.
El Amrani emphasized that a professional player is required to transform fan pressure into a motivation for development, recalling in this context the case of Azeddine Ounahi, who faced criticism after the Brazil match, before admitting during the press conference preceding the Scotland match that his performance did not meet the expectations of the fans, affirming his determination to work and return to the level that Moroccans expect from him, which the analyst considered a model for how to leverage criticism to improve performance.
Regarding the "mentality of the audience," the same speaker stated that the Moroccan supporter remains loyal to the national team, but their judgments are often issued under the influence of the emotions and excitement that accompany major matches; thus, the result remains the most present factor in shaping their positions, while calm technical evaluation is more the responsibility of analysts and specialists than it is of the audience.
Commenting on the ongoing debate surrounding the performance of the Moroccan national team players during the 2026 World Cup, Maâti Ain El Arbas, the former coach of Nahda Tarafaya and founder of the first football school in the Moroccan Sahara, confirmed that the phenomenon of rapid transition from praise to criticism is not new in Moroccan football, but has accompanied various generations and national teams, adding that the "mentality of results" has remained present in the dealings of a large part of public opinion with players, where the match result overshadows the overall evaluation or the player's technical value.
Maâti Ain El Arbas explained, in a statement to the Hespress electronic newspaper, that Moroccan football history provides many examples of this phenomenon, recalling the national team's participation in the 1986 World Cup, when player Hassina, one of the pillars of the team at the time, faced widespread criticism even before the tournament began due to his selection in the squad, despite his contribution to reaching the finals.
The sports analyst also recalled memories of the 1994 World Cup, highlighting that goalkeeper Azmi, who was one of the stars of the national league with Wydad Casablanca and contributed to leading the team to the World Cup, became a target for criticism after a single mistake against the Saudi team, which he considered evidence that the audience often reduces a player's career to a single moment, forgetting many years of contribution.
The same speaker noted that this phenomenon is repeating itself with the current generation, despite the unprecedented achievements of the national team under Walid Regragui's leadership, pointing out that the latter succeeded in building a competitive team that has restored Moroccan and African football's presence on the global stage and has become a source of inspiration for other Arab and African teams. Nevertheless, Ain El Arbas adds, some voices do not hesitate to direct criticism as soon as a player stumbles or their level declines in a particular match, without considering what they have provided throughout their career.
The former Sahrawi coach cited several names that have faced criticism, including Sofiane Rahimi, whom he considered a player who built his career through personal effort and proved his worth as a top scorer in the UAE league and the national team, before facing a wave of criticism for missing a penalty, despite the fact that major football stars, such as Messi and Roberto Baggio, have previously missed crucial penalties.
The same sports analyst also addressed Ibrahim Diaz, stating that his decisive passes against Brazil and Scotland reflected high technical quality, and that the evaluation of the player should not change due to a single match, while also praising what Aissa Diop provided against the Netherlands, both defensively and through his contribution to the goal that led the team to qualification.
Maâti Ain El Arbas concluded that modern football is based on cumulative work, emphasizing that judgments on players or coaches should be based on the complete journey rather than a moment or a temporary result; he also highlighted the role played by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation in developing youth categories, stressing that investment in training is the true guarantee for the continued presence of the national team at the highest levels, a vision that will allow Morocco to continue producing generations capable of competing at continental and global levels, far from the immediate judgments imposed by the emotions of results.
