For the first time in history, an African team will play in the semifinals of a World Cup. The feat was achieved this Saturday (10) by the Moroccan national team, which defeated Portugal by 1-0, at the Al Thumama stadium, in Doha.
It was up to striker Youssef En-Nesyri, 25, to score the goal that not only defined the match but also ended Cristiano Ronaldo’s career in World Cups. At the age of 37, the Portuguese star played for the fifth and last time in his career in the biggest tournament in world football.
As soon as the game ended, Ronaldo was the first Portuguese to leave the pitch. Almost at the entrance to the tunnel, a fan tried to grab him and was restrained by security. Already in the tunnel, the number 7 shirt was seen crying.
He was still on the bench when the score was opened. He entered in the second half, but could not prevent the Portuguese fall.
Morocco was only the fourth African nation to reach the quarterfinals, after Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010). Now, the Moroccan team will wait for the winner of the confrontation between France and England, at 4 pm (BrasÃlia time), also this Saturday.
Portugal, in turn, was struggling to overcome the two best campaigns in the history of the tournament, third place in 1966 and fourth place in 2006, this being precisely the first with Cristiano Ronaldo in the team.
As he did against Switzerland, in the quarterfinals, coach Fernando Santos left the Portuguese captain, 37, on the bench. He bet again on Gonçalo Ramos, 21. The exchange was a result of the number 7 tantrum when he was substituted against South Korea, still in the group stage.
The coach, however, opted for a change from the last game. He removed William Carvalho and put Rúben Neves in midfield.
The exchange took away the mobility that the Portuguese showed in the last match. Despite the patience to rotate the ball in midfield, there was a certain difficulty in breaking through the Moroccan defense. This time, Gonçalo Ramos was little used.
Well closed, Morocco bet on quick rises to the attack to try to surprise the Portuguese defense. He created good chances, but wasted opportunities with weak shots or shots far from the goal, such as Ziyech and Amrabat.
It took almost 30 minutes for the Europeans to give an answer, which came almost by accident, when João Félix finished from the edge of the area, the ball deflected in the defense and deceived goalkeeper Yassine before going close to the crossbar.
When Portugal looked more dominant in the game, however, Morocco fitted in a good climb on the left, where the full-back Attiat-Allah Yahya took off a cross and had a wrong start by goalkeeper Diogo Costa to put the ball in the head of Youssef En- Nesyri. The striker opened the scoring in the 42nd minute.
On the edge of the lawn, Moroccans celebrated, while their fans displayed the country’s and also Palestinian flags, as a form of solidarity by the Arab nation around the Palestinians, demanding the end of the Israeli occupation and the formation of a new state.
The support to Palestine marked not only Morocco’s trajectory in the World Cup, but also in the matches in Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. Still fearing possible protests from the Moroccans, Fifa reinforced security at the edge of the pitch, in front of the fans – they, however, spent the entire game supporting their team.
While waiting for the Moroccan celebration to end, the Portuguese wanted more haste in restarting the match. On the bench, Cristiano Ronaldo made faces and mouths.
Before the break, the Portuguese hit the ball on the crossbar, with Bruno Fernandes and complained about a penalty by Hamiki on João Félix, but the Argentine referee Facundo Tello ordered the move to continue.
Just six minutes into the final stage, Fernando Santos decided to put Cristiano Ronaldo on the field. He came on for Rúben Neves. The striker became the fifth in history with the most games in World Cups, with 22. The leader is the German Lothar Matthäus, with 25.
Portugal has improved. Not only because of the shirt number 7, but because he started to shoot more on goal. Bruno Fernandes almost equalized with a good shot at 19 minutes. But, as time went by, the clock also became an opponent.
Morocco had already given up attacking. In the second stage, he took off few counterattacks. But even so, the Portuguese did not reach a tie, saying goodbye to the World Cup.
Before the end, Walid Cheddira took the second yellow card and ended up expelled. But even that did not stop the Moroccan party.
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