Morocco knocked out Portugal 2:1 in the 2022 World Cup; Africa is crushing Europe.
The match of the 1/4 finals of the World Cup in Qatar between the national teams of Morocco and Portugal was held on December 10 at the Al-Toumama Stadium in Doha. The Moroccans became the main sensation of the playoffs. However, looking at their confident game in the group stage or in the match with the Spaniards, you could say that this is not such a big sensation. The Portuguese team in the 1/8 finals confirmed the title of European Brazilians and crushed the Swiss team. Many believed that the Moroccans would not be able to resist such a rival.
The Portuguese took possession of the ball from the first minutes of the match, and at the first loss they turned on total pressure. Already in the 5th minute, João Felix headed a dangerous shot at the goal of Yassin Bunu, but did not reach the goal. The Moroccans’ response was also quite dangerous, but Youssef En-Nesiri headed over the goal. The first 15 minutes remained for the Portuguese, and then the Moroccans began to have more possession of the ball and conduct meaningful attacks. Now they were hitting the target and pressing. However, another chance was missed by Joao Felix, his shot on goal led to a ricochet, and the ball warmed up a little with the goal post. Sofiane Bufal had an equally dangerous chance in front of the European team’s goal, but he shot straight into the hands of goalkeeper Diogo Costa. In the 39th minute, Felix had a third attempt to score, again a shot and again above the goal. 42nd minute. Morocco’s attack down the left flank, a high pass into the box, where En-Nesiri is ahead of Costa and heads the ball into the Portugal net. In the last minute of the half, Bruno Fernandes struck from the left flank, but the ball hit the crossbar of Bunu’s goal. The second half promised a lot of interesting things.
Early in the second half, Hakim Ziyech gave a dangerous free-kick in the 49th minute, but Diogo Costa saved the net. Fernando Santos makes substitutions, removes nominal destroyers from the field and releases first Cristiano Ronaldo, then Vitinho and Rafael Leão. At some points, the Portuguese had a total advantage. At the same time, the Moroccans began to use any stop to cool the ardor of the opponent and slow down the pace. In the 58th minute, Gonzalo Ramos could have scored, he headed without interference, but passed. It’s the same after Fernandes’ shot from the edge of the box. In the 83rd minute, João Felix had another chance, but Bounoux turned the ball over for a corner. The last ten minutes contained scoring chances from both the Portuguese and Moroccans, plus a sending-off from Morocco. To the last, Santos’ team tried to save the game, but in the end we witnessed a historic event. For the first time, an African team reached the semifinals of the World Cup. Will there be more..
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