Fifa World Cup 2022: Morocco down Portugal to become first African World Cup semi-finalists
- The Atlas Lions, also the first Arab team to make the final four, sealed a tense 1-0 victory over Portugal on Saturday at Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar
- Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo has probably played his last World Cup match after making an ineffectual appearance as a second-half substitute
Morocco became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals as Youssef En-Nesyri’s first-half goal sealed a tense 1-0 victory over Portugal on Saturday at Al Thumama Stadium.
The Atlas Lions, also the first Arab team to make the final four, added Portugal to their list of European scalps with a resolute second-half performance.
Cristiano Ronaldo has probably played his last World Cup match after making an ineffectual appearance as a second-half substitute, failing to score his first knockout-phase goal at the tournament.
Morocco took a 42nd-minute lead through En-Nesyri’s header as they came on strongly late in the first period.
Portugal piled on the pressure after the break but an injury-hit Morocco, without three of their four first-choice defenders once skipper Romain Saiss was forced off, hung on despite being reduced to 10 men in added time.
The partisan crowd undoubtedly helped the North Africans over the line, although Portugal struggled to create many clear-cut chances as they lost a World Cup quarter-final for the first time.
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo was sent on early in the second half by coach Fernando Santos but could not rescue the Euro 2016 winners.