From the edge of the Marrakech medina and the marvellously faded rooftop bar of the Grand Hotel Tazi, where the raffish furnishings have barely changed since the place was opened in the 1920s, the sound wafted through the cafes and restaurants that line the street leading to the city’s famously mad trading square, the Jemaa el-Fnaa.

I had broken away from the tournament temporarily while Morocco played Zambia in Rabat, around 300km (200 miles) away, on Monday but I knew the host nation of the 2024-25 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) had scored again because of clattering tables and a din in the middle distance.

There must have been a tiny delay in the coverage, because the celebrations that marked Morocco’s second goal of a 3-0 win arrived in stages. Eventually, they got to Cafe Roxe, rammed with men smoking cigarettes and drinking mint tea. Cue: pandemonium.

There is no alcohol, but such hazy settings provide an intoxicating atmosphere.

The men, and they are always men, stare upwards, fixing their eyes at a television high on a wall, sometimes pointing like they have seen an aeroplane in flight for the first time.

Even if you don’t speak Arabic, you know they have an opinion on more or less everything because there is a reaction to each kick of the ball and each decision of the head coach or referee.

If you sit for long enough, you lose yourself and remember that in countries where religions dominate the way of life, this is one of the ways the sport is absorbed and you are ultimately the visitor, the odd one out.

Fans watch the action at Hotel Tazi (Simon Hughes/The Athletic)

You’ll find out more if you suspend judgement and ask questions. Yet Moroccans seem more comfortable posing them.

They are a warm, helpful and curious people, but tend not to give too much away about their own thoughts, at least not right now, especially to a foreigner, and certainly not a random journalist who suddenly appears and is trying to capture what is really going on.

In October, protests across several Moroccan cities about a lack of spending on key public services when the country was pouring billions of dirham into stadium building became international news, but momentum was lost after three deaths.

At the moment, it feels like Morocco have to win AFCON next month, which would be their first triumph in it since 1976 and only their second overall, to justify literally everything.

There is ultimately less joy in success when it is expected and more relief. Hence, there is a nervous tension and when Morocco score, the country suddenly breathes again.

The previous edition of AFCON, in the Ivory Coast two years ago, was a party. Each time you stepped outside, the orange shirts of the hosts’ national team were everywhere. The whole event felt like Glastonbury, but Morocco is at a more serious point in its history. Compare this AFCON to the World Economic Forum.