SOFYAN AMRABAT admitted he played through injury and pain to help Morocco reach the World Cup quarter-finals.
The North African side stunned Spain on penalties in a dramatic last-16 tie on Wednesday night.
Amrabat was in tears after the victory as he admitted he played through injury
The Fiorentina defender held Spain’s quality midfield to a clean sheet in 120 minutes of actionRex
Luis Enrique’s side dominated for 120 minutes in Qatar but failed to find the breakthrough they needed.
Amrabat, 26, and his teammates shocked the globe by containing a dangerous Spain side.
And afterwards, the Fiorentina midfielder admitted he’d taken injections before the game to be able to battle though an injury.
He said: “To the question of whether I was able to play, I’ll tell you that yesterday until 3am I stayed up with the physiotherapist trying to do the impossible.
“Today I played with injections, but I couldn’t leave my teammates and a whole country. I’m really happy and proud.
“It goes without saying that after a match like that we can only be very proud for our people and for everyone.
“It is beautiful. I’m not usually emotional, but today was incredibly tough.
“Spain had possession of the ball but we defended, we fought, we gave our lives. I think this is very beautiful for football.”
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Morocco fought through extra time to get to a penalty shootout.
Pablo Sarabia, Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets all missed their spot-kicks for the 2010 champions as Morocco made history by reaching the World Cup quarters for the first time.
Achraf Hakimi coolly stepped up to Panenka the winner past Unai Simon.
And the Madrid-born star ran over to his mother to celebrate after the game.
In a touching scene, Hakimi and his mum shared a loving embrace and a kiss.
Meanwhile, victory over Spain has left Rodri with a bitter taste in his mouth.
The Man City star, 26, said that Spain deserved the win despite being dumped out.