Astoria's 'Little Morocco' Watches End Of Improbable World Cup Run

ASTORIA, QUEENS — On the stretch of Steinway Street known as Little Morocco, the cafes and hookah lounges were filled to the brim long before the start of Wednesday's World Cup clash with France.

Casual fans, expats and members of the Moroccan diaspora thronged the thoroughfare, much as they had done for the country's five previous World Cup matches this year — including its thrilling upset victories against powerhouses Spain and Portugal.

"Everyone loves an underdog story, but this is as pure of an underdog story as you’re ever going to get," said Nadeem Al-Okla, 19, as he stood on the street before kickoff. Staying at home on Long Island during a break from his college in Pittsburgh, Al-Okla had no doubt where he would go for Wednesday's semifinal.

"We had to watch where everyone else is watching," he said.

Across the street, inside the Moroccan restaurant Dar Yemma, Hicham Azekri said he had flown in from his Las Vegas home hours earlier Wednesday morning just to cheer on his home country in Astoria.

"The team means everything, man — we're the first African team to make it to the [semi]finals," the 41-year-old Casablanca native said. "I just came 'cause of this, the vibe and the Moroccan community here."

In the jam-packed hookah bar Dream Cafe, patrons sang along to the national anthem and cheered the kickoff. But the place fell silent less than five minutes later, when French player Théo Hernandez whacked a ball past the Moroccan defense to give his team an early lead.

Some fans inside the bar would soon be doubly disappointed: minutes later, an employee began ushering out all the spectators who had been crammed in near the entrance. He pointed to a flier that the NYPD's 114th Precinct had issued to businesses on the block ahead of Wednesday's match, stating that the "Sidewalk and street must remain clear" and that "Viewing parties must be contained inside venue."

"No stand," the man said. "Ticket."

An NYPD spokesperson said the notices had been posted due to "large, disorderly crowds emptying out of businesses and groups of people blocking both the sidewalks and roadways" during other recent World Cup games.

"Examples of violations include blocking pedestrian and vehicular traffic in addition to disorderly conduct," the spokesperson said. "Businesses are responsible for ensuring that the number of patrons present inside the location does not exceed the maximum occupancy. If they do, they are subject to enforcement."

Sarra Ben, 23, a student from New Jersey, normally roots for her own country, Tunisia. But she threw her support behind a fellow North African nation, noting that Morocco's most recent three opponents had all previously occupied it as a colony.

"It feels great to see this country represent us," she said. "Especially going up against our colonizers."

Any Steinway Street shop screening the game was filled with fans clad in Morocco's red and green — including the non-Moroccan businesses. Caffé Borbone, a narrow Italian espresso bar, was bursting at the seams for the entire second half, as fans winced and cried out during Morocco's numerous missed chances.

But they began filing out when France forward Randal Kolo Muani notched his team's second goal in the 79th minute. The last whistle blew soon after, ending Morocco's championship dreams.

But the people pouring out of the bars soon regrouped on the street. As they had after their country's victories, fans waved flags and lit flares of the national colors, eventually swelling to a crowd that took over all of Steinway Street.

Halftime spirits on Steinway remain high pic.twitter.com/7eZ0JwFxmq
— Nick Garber (@nick_garber) December 14, 2022

Karim, who declined to give his last name, said as he watched the crowd that he was "still processing" the hard loss.

But the Brooklyn resident said his home country's spot on the world stage was "a big day to show the colonizers that we're coming back."

"Enough of the Western European countries controlling the world," he said. "It's time that the world knows that we exist, that we’re a country. We’re not just here for the west to take our resources — it's time for us to come back and actually have our fair share of this planet."