Morocco became the first African team in World Cup history to reach the semifinals following a victory against Portugal last week. Next, the “Atlas Lions” faced off against France, who were hoping to become only the third country to win back-to-back World Cups after prevailing against Croatia in the 2018 final.

More than 100 members of the local Moroccan community gathered on Wednesday afternoon to watch their home country’s match-up against Les Bleus at the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va.

Among those watching in anticipation was Youssef Benslaouia, whose parents let him leave school early to watch the game.

“I’m kinda shaking,” said Benslaouia, 14, who is Moroccan. “We made history. We got this far. I’m happy.”

Mohammed Abedalazez, a Palestinian who drove in from Woodbridge, said the historic match brought fans together from across the Arab world.

“They’re representing the Arabs, they’re representing the Africans, and we’re all Muslim and they’re Muslim too, so they’re making us proud,” Abedalazez said. “They took us all the way to the semifinal.”

The center, a local mosque that has served northern Virginia since 1983, opened its doors to fans across the region who were eager to watch the big match. Around 5,000 Morocco-born residents live in the D.C. metropolitan region, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

“The Masjid is intended to be a community gathering space, not just a prayer space, so that was the intent here,” said Saif Rahman, director of public and government affairs at the mosque.

“Dar Al-Hijrah spans so many languages, so many ethnicities, so many backgrounds, so we felt like opening the door up for folks to have a watch party here would be a great way for the community to gather to be with our Moroccan brothers and sisters during these exciting times for them,” Rahman added.

Early in the match, members of the crowd gasped as France got off to a running start with a fifth-minute goal by left-back Theo Hernandez. That early goal was followed by a missed opportunity by French forward Olivier Giroud, who hit the outside of Morocco’s goalpost on a left-foot strike in the eighteenth minute.

Shortly before half-time, Morocco’s Jawad El Yamiq unleashed a spectacular bicycle kick off a corner kick that came just inches from tying the game, but was ultimately deflected by French goalie Hugo Lloris and the goalpost.

“I think seeing Morocco making it this far is just incredible. And I think things that go on in the countries of our families, of our parents isn’t always uplifting, so to see this excitement happening in our communities is just like — we need that in our lives,” said spectator Rawan Elbaba, who grew up in the region and regularly attends Dar Al-Hijrah.

Elbaba, whose family is originally from Lebanon, said she was preparing for Morocco to lose against France, but that a win against the soccer titans would be historic.

“I’m just really excited to be here,” she said.

Towards the end of the second half, France doubled their lead with a goal from Randal Kolo Muani, who was scoring for the first time in an international game.

And despite several close attempts by Morocco in the last minutes of the match, the Lions remained goalless at the final whistle, ending their dreams of a World Cup title and sending the defending champions to the finals against Argentina. Post-game statistics showed both teams took a roughly equal number of shots on and off goal, with Morocco dominating possession throughout the game.

Despite the loss, fans like Taoufik Aitsi said they were proud of the Moroccan team, and glad the match unified their community.

“We didn’t get the results we wanted today but all we can do is give a good hand to the team,” said Aitsi, 18, who is Moroccan and lives across the street from the center. “It really brought the ummah together, brought the Muslim area together. That’s really all we wanted from today.”