MOROCCO 2 Belgium 0: a major upset, but well deserved, and by no means lucky.

The old adage ‘the sum is greater than the parts’ fits the Moroccans perfectly; no huge names but a collective that can, and did, play beyond the sum of its salaries.

Exactly the opposite can be said of Belgium, whose galaxy of stars looked like a team picked from strangers in a pub before kick-off as they totally failed to gel.

There were two Hazards in the Red Devils’ team, neither of whom created many dangers for the Atlas Lions, who fought tooth and claw for every ball and proved that tenacity triumphs over talent.

Belgium’s surfeit of possession resulted in little more than side- and back-passing, like an army marking time: plenty of precision and motion, but no progress.

They had the best of the ball but Morocco used theirs better.

The African side is renowned for not conceding goals but they don’t score many, either.

However, they did sound a warning right at the end of the first half, when Roman Ziyech whipped in a vicious cross from the right.

It missed everyone, including keeper Tibaut Courtois, but was disallowed owing to offside interference by an attacking player.

Belgium were again dominant in the second half, but oh so predictable as the Lions sat back and picked them off each time they tried to come forward.

New personnel were brought on, with Youri Tielemans, Dries Mertens and later Romelu Lukako hoping to grab the three points.

Big names on a big stage, but they were about to be upstaged.

The team ranked number two in the world by Fifa never learned their lesson, as they were to concede a goal that was an exact replica of the one that was overruled.

A free kick was unnecessarily gifted by Thomas Meunier close to the left corner flag and from an impossibly acute angle, Abdelhamid Sibiri beat a poorly positioned Courtois at the near post.

The tens of thousands of fans who had made the short trip from Morocco were ecstatic, and even more so soon after, when Hakim Ziyech was too strong for his markers and held the ball up before cutting it inside for Zakaria Aboukhlal to double the advantage at 2-0.

This was joy unbridled; another David and Goliath act at Qatar 2022.

There were many heroes in the Moroccan side, none more so than Sofiane Boufal and I reckon some big European clubs will be getting their cheque books ready.