A Swansea couple are gearing up for a nail-biting World Cup semi-final - with one of the pair set to support his native Morocco whilst the other supports her native France. Karim and Julie Hadji have been life-long football fans but "never expected" to see their home nations play against each other - not least on a World Cup semi-final stage.
The couple met online 14 years ago and have been together ever since. They moved to Swansea together in 2011 and now live in the Morriston area of the city with their young daughter, with Julie working as teacher and Karim working in a care home.
Karim, originally from Fes in northeast Morocco, said: "It's tense! We're both football fans and both want our teams to win. We've been joking about it, we're so excited for it. I never thought we [Morocco] would get to the semi-final of a World Cup - and I never thought we'd be playing France! It's the first time for a country in Africa to be in the semi-final and the first time for an Arab nation as well."
"My wife loves football as well," he added. "I hope Morocco will win, we believe in our team, we believe in our manager. I think the score could be 1-0, we just need a little luck. My wife, she's from Toulouse in south France and she thinks France will win 1-0."
Karim and Julie have a two-year-old daughter, Nora. Usually, she supports Morocco like her dad - but ahead of the World Cup semi-final the couple tried to explain to her why they were both so excited and anxious for the game, and her loyalties changed.
"Our little one, she's two and a half, called Nora. She used to support Morocco, but when we told her yesterday [about today's game], she grabbed the Welsh flag - she wants to support Wales!" Karim added. "Football is a big thing in Morocco, everyone is living the dream right now - it's so good for the country!"
Ahead of the match, Karim and Julie have put Morocco and France flags in their home in amongst the Christmas decorations, while little Nora adorns a Welsh flag. Karim and Julie will be watching the World Cup semi-final tonight at home with their friends. They each predict their team to win 1-0. You can share your predictions for the score - and let us know who you'll be backing - in the comments below this article.
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