DOHA, Qatar — Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou leaned back in his chair, shook his head and said: “Pinch me, I’m dreaming.”

Yes, Morocco really is in the World Cup semifinals.

Before arriving in Qatar, the north African nation had only won two of its previous 16 matches at the World Cup. The team’s coach had been in position for just four months. Its players were talented but battling a culture of underachievement by the country at major soccer tournaments.

So, how has Morocco managed to top a group containing second-ranked Belgium and 2018 finalist Croatia and then eliminate Spain and Portugal – two of Europe’s soccer powerhouses – to become Africa’s first World Cup semifinalist and the pride of the Arab world?

The answer lies in a bold decision by its soccer federation and recently installed coach Walid Regragui’s unwavering belief in a game plan that’s being followed to the letter by a selfless and gifted group of players.

No team has been able to crack the code. Can France in the semifinals?

The statistics behind Morocco’s run are extraordinary. The team has only conceded one goal – and that was an own-goal by Aguerd against Canada – meaning Croatia, Belgium, Spain and Portugal have failed to break down Morocco.

They have only allowed 10 shots on target in five games. They are averaging less than three shots on goal and surviving on an average possession of just 29.8% per game. Against Spain, Morocco had 343 passes and its opponent had 1,041.

“I don’t think they have ever run as much in their lives,” Regragui said. “When you put in so much heart, you give yourselves a chance.”

The foundation to this unlikely underdog story was built in August when Vahid Halilhodzic – an experienced Bosnian coach who guided Morocco serenely through African qualifying – was fired by the federation essentially because of his refusal to select Hakim Ziyech, one of the country’s best players.

The federation cited “divergent visions” as the reason for firing Halilhodzic and replaced him with Regragui, a former Morocco international who had just led Wydad Casablanca to the African Champions League title. Regragui was about to inherit the most talented Morocco squad in a generation.

The team has never had so many players from top European clubs.

The two fullbacks, Achraf Hakimi and Noussair Mazraoui, are starters for Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, respectively; winger Ziyech plays for Chelsea, albeit not so regularly; goalkeeper Bounou and striker Youssef En-Nesyri are at Sevilla in Spain; Sofyan Amrabat is the defensive midfielder at Fiorentina in Italy; center back Nayef Aguerd is at West Ham in the Premier League, where captain Romain Saiss was recently playing for Wolverhampton.

Regragui’s task was two-fold: to get his players functioning in a system that could get results at the World Cup and to get them believing they could shock the world. “I told them, ‘You don’t come to the World Cup only to play three games,” he said.

PORTUGAL: Cristiano Ronaldo said in a cryptic social media post that his dream of winning the World Cup with Portugal has ended, while stopping short of announcing his retirement from international duty.

Ronaldo, 37, left the field in tears after Portugal lost 1-0 to Morocco in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

In his first comments after the elimination, Ronaldo said Sunday that it was “time to take stock” without saying explicitly if he wants to carry on being available for Portugal after 19 years in the national team.

“There’s no point in reacting rashly,” Ronaldo wrote on Instagram. “I just want everybody to know that a lot has been said, a lot has been written, a lot has been speculated about, but my dedication to Portugal has never wavered for an instant.”