French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Qatar to attend the World Cup semi-final between France and Morocco on Wednesday, French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said on Sunday.

Morocco will play against the team of its former colonial ruler – who were tournament winners in 2018 – for a place in the final, after they beat England 2-1 and the North Africans beat Portugal 1-0 in Saturday’s quarter-finals.

“The details of the trip remain to be settled, of course, but he had made this commitment,” Oudea-Castera said on Franceinfo radio.

Macron’s office had said last month that he would wait for the semi-finals to go to the World Cup if the team reached that stage.

There were also celebrations across the Arab world and in Europe after Morocco beat Portugal and became the first African or Arab team to reach a World Cup semi-final.

No African or Arab country had managed to go beyond the quarter-finals. Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010 came closest to reaching the final four of the most prestigious tournament.