The Moroccan national team pulled off another surprise by beating Portugal (1-0) on Saturday, thanks to a solitary goal by Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri, to advance to the semifinals of a World Cup for the first time, after a frenetic match that Fernando Santos’ men were unable to send to extra time and that left Cristiano Ronaldo without his last chance to win the World Cup title.
With this victory, the ‘Lions of Atlas’ wrote their name in golden letters in the history of African soccer, becoming the first team from the continent to be among the four best in the world. The Sevilla striker’s solitary goal was enough for Walid Regragui’s team to present their candidacy for the title.
Fernando Santos once again opted for a starting eleven without Cristiano Ronaldo, as was the case in the round of 16 against Switzerland (6-1). The great Portuguese captain and hero saw the Moroccan goal from the bench and although he came to his team’s rescue in the second half, he was unable to avoid elimination from what is likely to be his last World Cup. The Moroccans now await a semi-final opponent in Saturday’s match between France and England (20:00).
The Portuguese opted for a vertical game from the start, with the intention of dismantling a well-armed and very compact Moroccan defense. Fernando Santos’ men went for the game, and could even find their reward before the first five minutes with Joao Felix’s header, which Bono cleared after a good intervention.
However, Walid Regragui’s men went for the same type of game that gave them such good results against Spain, retreating in their own half and using their wingers every time the Portuguese lost the ball. Thus, Ziyech had a couple of dangerous approaches and at times they managed to subdue the Portuguese, who, thick in midfield, could not find their attacking players.
The African team was deserving and finally from the head of En-Nesyri was born the first goal of the match. The Sevilla attacker took advantage of a lateral cross, which was not well measured by the Portuguese goalkeeper, to put his team ahead and put the match on track. The Portuguese team took the blow well and wanted to react, but the crossbar prevented Bruno Fernandes from converting his cross into one of the goals of the championship.
A frenetic end to the first half that, at times, seemed to continue at the start of the second. Knowing the need for a goal to calm the spirits, Fernando Santos decided to move the bench and bring on Joao Cancelo and his top scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo. With greater depth on the flanks, the Portuguese began to reach the rival goal with more assiduity.
Fernando Santos’s men turned their attacking repertoire to their advantage, but even so, the Moroccan defense continued to show no signs of fatigue, impassive in the face of the barrage of Portuguese chances. Joao Felix had the best chance, but a sensational save by Bono prevented the equalizer. Even Pepe had it in his head to send the match to extra time, which, to the detriment of the Portuguese, eluded them in the last minute.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS.
–RESULT: MOROCCO, 1 – PORTUGAL, 0 (1-0, at half-time).
–LINE-UP.
MOROCCO: Bono; Achraf Hakimi, Romain Saiss (Dari, min.57), Jawad El Yamiq, Y. Attiat-Allah; Sofyan Amrabat, Azzedine Ounahi, Selim Amallah (Chedira, min.65); Hakim Ziyech (Aboukhlal, min.82), Youssef En-Nesyri (Benoun, min.65) and Sofiane Boufal (Jabrane, min.82).
PORTUGAL: Diogo Costa; Diogo Dalot (Horta, min.79), Rúben Dias, Pepe, Raphaël Guerreiro (Cancelo, min.51); Ruben Neves (Cristiano Ronaldo, min.51), Otávio (Vitinha, min.69), Bernardo Silva; Bruno Fernandes, Gonçalo Ramos (Leao, min.69) and João Félix.
–GOALS.
0-1, min.42: En-Nesyri.
–REFEREE: Facundo Tello (ARG). Yellow carded Dari (min.70) and sent off Cheddira (min.93) for Morocco, and Vitinha (min.87), for Portugal.
–STADIUM: Al Zumama
