morocco vs Portugal highlights(video)
Morocco beat Portugal 1-0 on Saturday to become the first African country to reach the World Cup semifinals, thereby destroying Cristiano Ronaldo’s prospects of winning soccer’s richest prize. Youssef En-Nesyri scored the game-winning goal in the 42nd minute, continuing Morocco’s incredible run that has inspired an outpouring of patriotism in the Arab world during the Middle East’s first World Cup
portugal left captain Cristiano Ronaldo out of the starting lineup again, opting instead for hat-trick hero Goncalo Ramos in the quarter-final against Morocco. Santos made one change for tonight’s game, replacing William Carvalho with Ruben Neves, while Morocco’s Walid Regragui was forced to reshuffle his defence after Nayef Aguerd and Noussair Mazraoui were ruled out due to injury. The absence of both is a big setback, with Yahia Attiat Allah replacing Mazraoui at left back and Jawad El Yamiq replacing Aguerd.
Portugal had up to 84% possession of play. However, they only have one shot on goal to show off their edge. Joao Felix forced Bono into a save after getting his foot to a cross. Morocco survived the onslaught after a few nervous ball cleared outs. Joao Felix of Portugal came close to opening the scoring twice, pushing Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou into an early save before his strike in the 31st minute took a deflection and nearly missed the target.
Morocco took a 1-0 lead over Portugal at halftime on Saturday thanks to En-stunning Youssef Nesyri’s header late in the first half. In the 42nd minute, Moroccan forward En-Nesyri soared higher than both Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa and defender Ruben Dias to put Morocco ahead.
Meanwhile, Portugal failed to break past Morocco’s defence, with Bruno Fernandes coming closest with a shot off the crossbar shortly after Morocco’s goal. Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench six minutes after the break but couldn’t save his team from defeat, as Morocco won to book a semi-final meeting with either England or France, who play later on Saturday. Morocco’s Walid Cheddira was sent off in extra time after earning two yellow cards in rapid succession, ensuring he will miss the semi-final.
