The Morocco team huddled around a phone in the Perth Rectangular Stadium center circle after their 1-0 victory over Colombia. Anissa Lahmari had scored on the rebound of a penalty kick that had been missed by Ghizlane Chebbak.

When Germany and South Korea went down to their final seconds, the Moroccans were watching, knowing that if the two-time world champions couldn’t find a winner, they would advance.

The final whistle blasted in Brisbane, confirming Germany’s 1-1 tie and elimination from the competition, while in Perth, 2,680 miles away, Moroccans began celebrating.

The group “came together, had the phone, and were all praying,” Lahmari explained. “It was like a bomb went off of happiness after that.”

In their first Women’s World Cup, Morocco has advanced to the round of 16. They are the only two remaining female debutantes in Australia and New Zealand out of a total of eight.

The North Africans got off to the worst possible start by losing 6-0 to Germany in their opening match.

Manager Reynald Pedros rallied his troops to back-to-back one-goal triumphs over South Korea and Colombia, setting up a quarterfinal showdown with France on August 8 in Adelaide.

Morocco has invested much in women’s football over the course of several years, and their success has put many of the other countries in this tournament to shame.