2022 World Cup Results - Cristiano Ronaldo Returns First, Morocco is the greatest African country after beating Portugal
The Moroccan national team made history as the first African country to qualify for the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup after defeating the Portuguese national team , which was strengthened by Cristiano Ronaldo et al.
The Moroccan national team and the Portuguese national team met each other in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup at Al Thumama Stadium on Saturday (10/12/2022) evening local time or WIB.
Reported by BolaSport.com from the official FIFA website, Portugal appeared more dominant with possession of the ball reaching 76 percent.
Apart from that, Portugal was also able to release 11 shots with three of them aiming right at the Moroccan goal.
As for Morocco, they were able to release nine shots with three of them aiming right at Portugal's goal.
Course of the Match
The Portuguese national team immediately appeared pressing since the first half and got a great chance in the 5th minute.
Starting from Bruno Fernandes' free kick, Joao Felix fired a header right in front of the goal for the Moroccan national team .
However, the goalkeeper of the Moroccan national team , Yassine Bounou, managed to make a neat save and thwart the opportunities for the Portuguese national team .
Two minutes later, the Moroccan national team responded to the Portuguese national team attack through a corner kick.
Receiving a corner kick from Hakim Ziyech, Youssef En-Nesyri fired a header towards the Portugal national team goal .
Unfortunately for Morocco, En-Nesyri's header still soared over the crossbar of Diogo Costa.
Portugal continued to dominate the first half and pressed the Moroccan defense.
In the 31st minute, Portugal again got another chance through Joao Felix's right foot shot from inside the penalty box.
Luckily for Morocco, Jawad El Yamiq successfully blocked the kick from Felix and failed to score a goal for Portugal.
Morocco returned to attack Portugal just four minutes later through the action of Sofiane Boufal.
After carrying out individual actions on the right side of the Portugal defense, Boufal then fired a right-footed shot from outside the penalty box.
However, Boufal's shot was still too weak and the ball headed comfortably into Diogo Costa's arms.
Portugal kept trying to put pressure on the Moroccan back line to score the first goal in this match.
Preoccupied with attacking, Portugal's goal conceded in the 42nd minute through Youssef En-Nesyri's action.
Receiving a cross from Yahia Attiyat-Allah, En-Nesyri fired a header with a high jump from inside the penalty box.
The ball entered comfortably into the goal of the Portugal national team and brought the Moroccan national team to a 1-0 lead in the first round.
The goal also closed the first half with Morocco's advantage over Portugal.
With this goal, Morocco is one step away from making history as the first African country to qualify for the semifinals.
After halftime, Portugal continued to try to equalize and scored the first goal.
The Portugal national team coach , Fernando Santos, also played Cristiano Ronaldo and Joao Cancelo in the 51st minute.
Ronaldo replaced Ruben Neves, while Cancelo replaced Raphael Guerreiro.
It is hoped that Ronaldo and Cancelo will be able to add to the Selecao's power in the second half.
Portugal then only scored an opportunity in the 64th minute through Bruno Fernandes.
However, Bruno's right-foot shot from outside the penalty box still bounced slightly over the Moroccan goal.
Portugal just got another golden opportunity when the game entered the 83rd minute.
This time, Joao Felix fired a left-footed shot from outside the penalty box after receiving a pass from Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, Yassine Bounou performed brilliantly under the Atlas Lions crossbar by brushing off Felix's kick.
In the remaining time of the second half, Cristiano Ronaldo et al continued to try to score an equalizer against Morocco.
Bounou again performed brilliantly in the match this time by stopping Ronaldo's chances during injury time .
Ronaldo's right foot shot from inside the penalty box in the 90+1 minute was caught well by the Seville goalkeeper.
While Bounou was performing brilliantly, Morocco actually lost one of their players in the 90+3 minute.
Walid Cheddira was sent off by referee Facundo Tello after receiving a second yellow card.
Cheddira fouled Joao Felix and made Morocco have to play with 10 players in the remaining time.
Despite playing with 10 players, Morocco still managed to maintain their advantage over Portugal.
Until the long whistle sounded, the 1-0 score for Morocco's victory had not changed at all.
With the victory over Portugal, Morocco managed to become the first African country to qualify for the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup .
Morocco 1-0 Portugal (Youssef En-Nesyri 42')
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