JAKARTA - The Morocco national team did not stop making surprises at Qatar's 2022 World Cup. After overthrowing Spain in the last 16, this time Portugal was silenced in the quarter-finals, Saturday, December 10.
Morocco won by a narrow score 1-0 over Seleccao de Quinas. The score was enough to lead them to the semifinals.
This is history for the Atlas Lions who qualified for the first time in the last four. They were listed as the first African team to be in the semifinals.
1 - Morocco are the first African team to qualify for the semi-final of a World Cup tournament - each of the previous three African sides to reach a quarter-final were all eliminated at this stage (Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010). Magical. pic.twitter.com/7rq8Yrn04L
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 10, 2022
Portugal was actually so dominant in the first half. Seleccao das Quinas made Morocco survive more.
Several opportunities were created by Portugal. However, there was no significant threat even though it had made it difficult for the Morocco defense.
While attacking, Portugal was missed in the 42nd minute. Receiving a cross from Attia Allah, En-Nesyri broke into Diogo Costa's goal with a header.
Bruno Fernandes came close to equalizing just before the end of the first half. Unfortunately, the ball from his right foot only hit the crossbar. The 1-0 score for Morocco lasted until the break.
A sensational En-Nesyri header sees the Atlas Lions in the lead.#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 10, 2022
At the start of the second half, Morocco almost added to the advantage. Luckily for Portugal, Diogo Costa was still quick to block the ball from a free kick.
The changes were made by Fernando Santos in the 51st minute. Joao Cancelo and Cristiano Ronaldo were played to increase the power to break up his team.
Cancelo replaces Raphael Guerreiro, while Ronaldo comes in to replace Ruben Neves. The presence of the two had little impact, although not yet significant.
All-time leading appearance makers in men's international football ⚽️196 - Cristiano Ronaldo🇵🇹196 - Bader Al-Mutawa🇰🇼 #FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/p41BFcI9oS
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 10, 2022
Bruno Fernandes had a golden opportunity to enter the 63rd minute. He is in a favorable position to open fire. However, accuracy is still a problem.
Morocco, who is already superior, remained completely in this second half. This made it difficult for Pepe and his friends to penetrate the goal that Bounou was guarding.
Bounou made a brilliant save in the 82nd minute. He parried the ball from Joao Felix's hard shot which led right into the net.
In the 90th minute, Ronaldo almost made the position change evenly. But again, Bounou was still alert in securing his goal from the threat of the megastar.
Morocco had to play with 10 people in the 90+3 minute after Walid Cheddira got a second yellow card.
Portugal put a lot of pressure on the Morocco defense. However, until the referee ended the match, the score 1-0 for Morocco remained unchanged.
Line-up
Morocco (4-3-3): Yasin Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Jawad El Yamiq, Romain Saiss, Yahya Attiat-Allah; Sofyan Amrabat, Azzedine Ounahi, Selim Amallah; Hakim Ziyech, Youssef En-Nesyri, Sofiane Boufal
Portugal (4-2-3-1): Diogo Costa; Diogo Dalot, Ruben Dias, Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro; Ruben Neves, Otavio; Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Joao Felix; Goncalo Ramos
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