Yesterday, the Morocco football team was the first African national team to progress to a World Cup semifinal. It is not a glamorous team that anyone assumed would make it out of the group’s stages: no global superstars and many players who play for smaller clubs and leagues.
What the team has managed to do is come together as a team. They have cohesion among the 26 players and coaching staff, and there is clarity in execution. They built their success on a plan, where each player understands their role and the process or game plan they need to follow, and all players accept and execute according to the program. When first-choice players were injured, a succession plan ensured there was disruption.
While simple, in theory, excellence comes in the execution. Size and stature are not essential, and for performance, it is not important what you have accomplished, nor who you compete against, but rather how the team prepares and shows up each day.
