Morocco's head coach Walid Regragui arrives for the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Morocco and Spain, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar on Dec 6, 2022. (FRANCISCO SECO / AP)

CORBEIL-ESSONNES, France - Ahead of the World Cup semi-final between Morocco and France, Hichem Sayadi is feeling torn by divided loyalties.

Speaking from his local sports hall in a French suburb south of Paris, where Morocco coach Walid Regragui started playing football, and wearing a Paris St Germain tracksuit, the 29-year- old says he will eventually come down on the side of Morocco.

"(Regragui) is from around here, he has played where we play, and also it is an African team ... it is historic," said Sayadi, who is French-Algerian, adding that "it kills me to be against Kylian (Mbappe)."Appointed coach of Morocco's national team this year, Regragui, 47, started his football journey in Corbeil-Essonnes, less than 30km from the French capital, where he grew up.

Those who knew Morocco coach Walid Regragui as a child in Corbeil-Essonnes say he was constantly playing football, taking trains to matches and that although he was not the best among his peers, he was the most determined

He played for mainly French teams, including AC Ajaccio, Dijon and Grenoble, as well as for Morocco from 2001-09.

At the World Cup in Qatar, Morocco beat Belgium to top their group before overcoming Spain and Portugal to become the first African and Arab team to reach the last four in the global showpiece event.

In Regragui's neighborhood of Montconseil, tower blocks surround the sports hall and a commercial center of mostly closed shops.

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Residents, many of African origin, say their "hearts swing" and they are sitting "between two chairs" as Wednesday's match brings up multiple identities and sporting allegiances.

Team mates and friends will face each other on the pitch, including Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi who both play for Paris St Germain. Regragui played alongside France striker Olivier Giroud for Grenoble in 2008.

There is a sense of historical redress in Morocco's journey in which they have knocked former colonial powers out of the tournament, including their own.

Regragui stayed sports-focused at a news conference in Qatar on Tuesday, the eve of the game.

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"I am a dual national. It is an honour and pleasure to play against France but it is just football ... I'm here as a football coach and what interests me is to win," he said.

'Didn't give up'

Those who knew Regragui as a child in Corbeil-Essonnes say he was constantly playing football, taking trains to matches and that although he was not the best among his peers, he was the most determined.

When he started playing professional football with Ajaccio and Dijon, Regragui would take teenagers from the neighbourhood to the clubs, including Sayadi when he was a boy of around 14 years of age.

Regragui has continued this tradition in Qatar by flying out his mother and a few close friends to Doha.

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Moussa Jagne, a 20-year-old football talent scout, believes a Morocco win would give young people from the area the confidence to pursue their ambitions.

"There are cliches about neighborhoods (like ours), often they are spoken about badly, now it is good to speak about success - like in relation to Walid," he said.