December 10, (THEWILL) – With a 1-0 victory over Portugal on Saturday, at the Al Thumama Stadium, the Atlas Lions of Morocco maintained their legendary run in Qatar, becoming the first African team to ever advance to the World Cup semi-finals.
In the round of 16, Walid Regragui’s team defeated Spain on penalties, but this was even more noteworthy and amazing since it guaranteed that Morocco would proceed where no other African country had gone before.
Just before halftime, Youssef En-Nesyri had the honour of scoring what will be remembered as one of the most significant goals in the annals of African football.
With Cristiano Ronaldo once more on the bench, Portugal applied considerable pressure for a significant portion of the second half, but their efforts fell short, much to the joy of the Moroccan-dominated crowd.
Portugal’s heartbreaking exit from the World Cup is the most recent of the exits of the European establishment after falling victim to Morocco in these finals. Pepe and Ronaldo’s international careers are undoubtedly over, but their successors have at least showed enough promise to aim for success at Euro 2024 while the victorious Morocco continue to advance.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
