Youssef En-Nesyri strike crush out Portugal as Morocco become first African country to reach semifinals of World Cup
Morocco become the first African country to reach the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup after beating Portugal in the quarter-finals of the tournament in Qatar. They did that with 10-men after Walid Cheddira was red carded in the stoppage time.
Before today’s game no African side had reached the last 4 of the World Cup with the likes of Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon, Tunisia and Morocco themselves featuring in previous World Cup quarter-finals.
With Morocco achieving a quarter-finals feat in this World Cup, their chances of bettering the World Cup record wasn’t bright when coming up against a Portugal side that thrashed Switzerland 6-1 in round of 16- the highest win in the competition so far and that benched five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo has been playing in the shadows of Gonçalo Ramos who struck a sensational hat-trick in last-16 clash against Switzerland. Ramos is the only player to score three times in the 2022 Qatar World Cup and that mark meant Ronaldo will once again start the game against Morocco from the bench in what was a mixed chances for the North African side with Ramos’ starting place a major threat and Ronaldo’s sideline a blessing.
Morocco capitalized on both occasions with a sit-deep approach throughout game. They broke Fernando Santos side’s heart in stoppage time of the first half when Sevilla forward Youssef En-Nesyri rose above Portugal’s defense to head home with a fine finish.
The victory see Morocco become the first African nation to play in the last 4 of the FIFA World Cup. They will meet the winner between England and France in semifinals with the two European nations meeting in the last quarter-finals game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
