Moroccan moped driver El Haj Mohamed is in high spirits as his country’s top footballers gear up for a historic World Cup clash against France, a welcome break from daily economic pain. “This team has let us forget everything, high prices and the rest. My mood has changed,” he said as he took a break from making deliveries in a market in Sale, a city adjoining the capital Rabat. Morocco are the first African and Arab team ever to make the semi-finals of a World Cup, and their remarkable run has given residents of the North African kingdom a temporary distraction from their tough economic situation. King Mohammed VI even made a rare public appearance in the streets of Rabat after the team’s surprise victory against Spain in the round of 16. The tournament in Qatar comes after the back-to-back crises of the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine sent inflation spiralling to eight percent, amid price hikes on fuel and food. Morocco has returned “to 2014 levels of poverty and vulnerability”, according to …