Morocco reaches to a historic semifinal
Morocco defeated Portugal to advance as the first African team to the semifinals, while France defeated England to keep pace with a title defence.
Once again starting the game on the bench, Portugal introduced Ronaldo early in the second half after falling behind 0-1 at the interval. But the tenacious Moroccans fought back valiantly, turning the slim lead into a victory. Walid Cheddira was dismissed from the game in stoppage time after receiving two yellow cards in one minute, but Portugal was unable to take advantage of the situation with less than five minutes remaining in the match. In the semifinals, Morocco will take on the defending champions France, who defeated England 2-1 in the last four stages on Thursday.
In this tournament, Morocco had already defeated Belgium and Spain, but the victory over Portugal is considerably more significant.
In addition to being a squandered opportunity against the tournament’s lowest-ranked team, Portugal’s performance will be remembered as Cristiano Ronaldo ‘s depressing farewell match at the age of 37. Morocco said they were worn out following their victory against Spain in the last-16, and as Portugal attacked right away, the bulk of the 44, 198-strong crowd once more loudly encouraged them.
Joao Felix’s diving header off of a Portugal free kick that was looped into the penalty area in the fourth minute forced a superb save from Yassine Bounou. However, since Morocco blocked the crossing lanes and impeded the Portuguese attackers, the supply soon ran out. In the first half, Joao Felix had two more opportunities to score, but Morocco suddenly found their mojo and routinely broke on the counterattack as their confidence grew.
Yahya Attiat-Allah, the left back, made a number of darting runs down the wing, giving Selim Amallah a nice opportunity in the 35th minute, but he was unable to take advantage of it. However, En-Nesyri scored Morocco’s opening goal seven minutes later by outjumping both goalkeeper Diogo Costa and defender Ruben Dias with a thunderous header after a long cross from the fullback into the Portuguese area.
Four minutes into the second half, Jawad El Yamiq touched Hakim Ziyech’s inswinging free kick, but Costa was there to block it this time. Morocco nearly scored a second goal. Ronaldo entered the game in the 51st minute to loud jeers, but he did give Portugal’s team a boost after Goncalo Ramos, who scored three goals in their 6-1 victory over Switzerland in the previous round, failed with a close-range header in the 58th.
Five minutes later, Bruno Fernandes hit over the top of the crossbar as Portugal poured more offensive and Morocco started to sit deeper. With seven minutes left, Bounou again stopped Joao Felix from scoring. Walid Cheddira of Morocco was sent in stoppage time after earning two consecutive yellow cards. But his team held out for a storied triumph, to to the pleasure of their boisterous cheering section.
Also, read : https://www.sportstrumpet.com/france-defeated-england-and-advanced-to-the-semifinals-fifa-word-cup/
