Morocco Ends Portugal and Ronaldo’s Dream

Cristiano Ronaldo’s failed to win his only missing trophy as Morocco stunned Portugal in the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup 2022. An emotional farewell for Cristiano as he went inside the tunnel crying. Ronaldo started the game on the bench but Fernando Santos has to sub him in early in the 2nd half as he needed his best player on the pitch because his team was behind 1 goal. Despite pressing high they were not able to break through the defensive lines of Morocco.

Portugal was in possession all over the game but could not manage to score. They managed to attempt 12 shots of which only 3 were on target. After beating an average Swiss side by 6-1, Fernando Santos made a huge decision of benching Ronaldo again. This decision caused Portugal to the world cup exit as the team was not mentally stronger without their captain. They were beaten the same way as in the 2018 World Cup by Uruguay and in the 2020 Euro by Belgium. After beating this was the last world cup that Ronaldo and Pepe played in. An emotional farewell as Portugal’s one of the greatest was going off the field crying. Pepe did get a chance in the dying minutes to equalize but was not able to score. 

Marvelous Moroccans

Morocco is a difficult team to score against. They have only conceded one goal in the whole tournament. They knew they will not let Portugal score. The Moroccans took their chances on the counter-attacks like in their game against Belgium. It was fruitful for them as Portugal was desperate to score and win. Just before halftime, En-Nesyri scored the only goal of the game with a high leap in the air. The goalkeeper looked to collect the ball but he reacted quickly to the cross coming from the left. He headed the ball into the empty net. Morocco attempted 9 shots of which 3 were on target. After the goal, they did well to defend their lead till the end. The Player of the match award was won by Sufyan Amrabat. He created many problems for Portugal.

 

Morocco has made history today after upsetting Portugal. Morocco became the first African team to qualify for the semifinals of the world cup. It’s a huge success not just for them but for the whole of Africa as there will be 3 more teams in the next world cup coming from the African continent. They will be facing defending champions France in the semifinals. Moroccans are hoping their fairytale journey continues but France is also looking to become the first nation to retain the world cup title after 60 years.