Review Of Quarterfinals Of The 2022 World Cup, Morocco Vs Portugal: Atlas Lions Can Prepare A Surprise

JAKARTA - Portugal will meet Morocco in the Qatar 2022 World Cup quarter-final match. This duel competes for tickets to the third semifinal of the quadrennial competition.

The two countries will meet at the Al Thumama Stadium, Saturday, December 10 at 22.00 p.m. Indonesian Western Time (WIB).

Morocco will try to go as far as possible after reaching the last eight for the first time.

Atlas Lions qualified for this round after a 120-minute goalless draw against Spain.

They then won against the 2010 world champion through a penalty shootout.

Meanwhile, Selecao and Quinas appeared completely different to beat Switzerland in the last 16. They scored a total of half a dozen goals and only conceded once.

The Spanish national team made Morocco the fourth African team to reach the last eight at the World Cup and the first in 12 years since Ghana in the 2010 edition in South Africa.

Atlas Lions' only previous appearance in the round of 16 came in 1986.

In addition, they also extended their unbeaten record at the World Cup to five games while maintaining the sixth clean sheet from their last seven matches.

Their trip in Qatar this year was also extraordinary. They tackled the strong teams Croatian and Belgium and collected seven points to sit at the top of the group.

Thus, Morocco will certainly prepare for the next surprise against Portugal to bring their journey closer to the most prestigious trophy in the semifinals.

On the other hand, Portugal managed so far when their coach Fernando Santos dared to back Cristiano Ronaldo against Switzerland. As a result, he also enjoyed his first victory since winning the 2016 European Cup.

Without superstars and the captain, Portugal built a much more mobile and proactive attack. As a result, the young star Benfica Goncalo Ramos who was installed in Ronaldo's position managed to score a hat-trick.

After securing three wins and scoring 12 goals in their name, Portugal seems to believe he can lift the World Cup trophy for the first time in their history.

Morocco (4-3-3): Bounou; Hakimi, Saiss, Aguerd, Mazraoui; Ounahi, Amrabat, Amalah; Ziyech, En-Nesyri, Boufal.

Portugal (4-3-3): Costa; Dalot, Pepe, Dias, Guerreiro; B.Silva, Carvalho, Otavio; Fernandes, Ramos, Felix.