Morocco 1st African team to reach semis
Morocco has entrenched itself in World Cup history as the first African team to reach the semifinals, and Portugal has crashed out in unceremonious fashion.
The conversation following Morocco’s 1-0 defeat of Portugal in the quarterfinals Saturday in Doha, Qatar, will inevitably center on Cristiano Ronaldo, who was not included in the starting lineup for the second straight game and whose international career is likely finished.
But first, a moment for Morocco.
“We did it for Africa and all the Moroccan people,” midfielder Bilal El Khannous said.
As for Ronaldo, this World Cup was also the moment when the pomp and circumstance sur- rounding him came to a gruel- ing end. From the interview with Piers Morgan on the eve of the tournament to his release by Manchester United to his attempt during the group stage to take credit on a Bruno Fernandes goal, the last few weeks have been nothing but cringe.
If he does indeed end up playing in Saudi Arabia, as reports have suggested, Ronaldo will finish his career far from the spotlight he obviously adores.
As for this game, though, Ronaldo’s impact after coming on at 51 minutes was almost predictably minimal. Portugal managed to get on the attack, but its talisman could not come up with the sort of moment that Lionel Messi provided for Argentina less than 24 hours earlier.
The most threatening shot came not from Ronaldo, but from João Félix, whose 81st minute shot seemed destined to curl into the top corner before Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bonunu got a hand on it. Ronaldo was denied by Bonunu in the 91st minute after a cuttingthrough ball sprung him on the counterattack. Pepe glanced a 97th minute header just wide of the post, and Portugal could not come up with an equalizer through eight long minutes of stoppage time.
As has been the case all tournament, Morocco was stout in defense and unforgiving on the counterattack. Youssef En-Nesryi scored the lone goal in the 42nd minute, a leaping header over keeper Diogo Costa. Bizarrely, Portugal’s Pepe and Bruno Fernandes both blamed Argentinian referee Facundo Tello, saying that eight minutes of stoppage time was not enough and that he should not have been allowed to officiate a match with Argentina still in the tournament.
Morocco, and all of Africa, will righteously laugh at that notion.
“Often African football has been described as subpar, not as good as elsewhere, but in this World Cup run, I think we’ve shown we can give anyone a run for their money,” Moroccan manager Walid Regragui said ahead of the match.