Portugal is putting on quite a performance in this tournament, and Morocco will have to show similar nerves as it did in the round of 16 if it wants to come out on top.
The Portugal coach has made several changes for the FIFA World Cup match against Morocco. With Portugal down 2-1 in the last 16 matches, Coach Santos replaced Cristiano Ronaldo with Goncalo Ramos. The only other change to the starting lineup was a move from defensive midfielder William Carvalho to Ruben Neves for the national team’s defense.
In the first half, Morocco’s Youssef En-Nesyri’s towering header in the 42nd minute gave them a 1-0 lead over Portugal. En-Nesyri deflected the ball over Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa and defender Ruben Dias to put Morocco ahead.
Morocco was the first African country to reach the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup with a 1-0 win on Saturday. The result came thanks to a towering header from Youssef En-Nesyri in the 42nd minute, who took down a Yahya Attiat-Allah cross. They landed just enough of his head on it to tip it past goalkeeper Diogo Costa and into the net, but Portugal struggled against Morocco’s defense. This caused a little fluctuation in betting odds at some of the best FIFA betting sites.
With seven minutes remaining of extra time, Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench for Portugal. Still, he couldn’t eliminate Morocco—the winner being decided by Walid Cheddira’s red card in extra time. Morocco must face England or France in the FIFA semi-finals this weekend as they progress as Africa’s first-ever team to do so in soccer history.
Morocco has an incredible history of soccer success, which makes them a prime candidate to make it to the semi-finals of this World Cup.
It will be interesting to see who they play next and how well they do.
