Tough-luck loser: Morocco will be missed at the World Cup

Football can be cruel. Often times, what you deserve from a given match - or tournament, for that matter - and what you actually come away with are two very different things. Just ask Morocco.

The Atlas Lions became the first team to bow out of the World Cup on Wednesday, a 1-0 loss to Portugal, on the back of a heartbreaking defeat to Iran by that same fine margin, condemning them to elimination from Group B. When history looks back on this tournament, little thought will likely be given to the manner in which heartthrob Herve Renard and his exciting side were sent packing.

It should be, though.

While it will come as little solace to captain Medhi Benatia and his cohorts, the north African nation played well enough to have already clinched a berth in the knockout stages, let alone still be in contention to qualify.

Wednesday's slim defeat arrived by virtue of a Cristiano Ronaldo header in just the fourth minute of action. Yes, leaving arguably the most lethal scorer alive all by his lonesome inside the penalty area is tough to forgive, but conceding to Europe's all-time leader in international goals isn't exactly something to be embarrassed about. Ronaldo has lost his marker inside the box on countless occasions, and he'll continue to do so.

Related: Morocco dumped from World Cup by Ronaldo's Portugal

The opening-match setback against Iran, meanwhile, was the most painful of the tournament thus far; after dictating play for the entirety of the contest, substitute Aziz Bouhaddouz inexplicably headed into his own goal in the 95th minute. There was no recovering from that. The final whistle of that first encounter brought with it a crushing sense of the inevitable, as impending matches against Portugal and Spain meant the Moroccans were all but planning their trip home before ever really unpacking their bags in Russia.

That, in the end, is how it turned out, but things could have - and perhaps should have - been very different.

Morocco outshot Iran and Portugal by a combined mark of 29-19, including a 7-4 advantage in shots on target. Of those 29 efforts, 20 came from inside the penalty area, while the Atlas Lions conceded just eight such attempts at their own end. Do that more often than not - over an entire club season, for example - and good things will (generally) happen.

With exciting Ajax attacking midfielder Hakim Ziyech, easily his team's most creative force, leading the way, Morocco dictated play in both matches, completing 351 passes into the final third, more than double the total of the aforementioned opponents combined.

"We should have been much more effective," Renard said after the loss to Portugal. "Just like in our opening game, we had lots of scoring opportunities. But those who know how to be in the penalty area and are the most gifted players know how to make a difference."

A Ronaldo-like talisman, Morocco does not boast.

His side pressed well - more than any other team in the opening round of matches, in fact - and often looked threatening right up until the decisive moment in front of goal, when many attacks either broke down, or ended with a wayward effort that turned the ball into a souvenir.

Other times, as was the case with a dangerous late strike that was blocked by Pepe on Wednesday, only some last-ditch defending denied the African nation.

There was, in short, plenty to like from Morocco over the last week. For all of that good work, though, there needs to be some end product. Football - and sport in general - is ultimately a results business; doubly so in a tournament of this nature (and magnitude) where the only thing that really matters is winning, regardless of how the results are procured.

Unfortunately, limited options up front proved decisive.

No disrespect to either striker, but Khalid Boutaib, who plays for Turkish side Yeni Malatyaspor, and Ayoub El Kaabi, who plies his trade with RS Berkane in his home country, aren't striking fear into anybody. Even with those deficiencies in front of goal, Morocco came painstakingly close to getting a pair of results in its opening two matches.

On another day - or in another group - perhaps things would have been different for a team that won plenty of admirers over the last week.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)