Eureka! Eureka! Morocco have done it!The Atlas Lions have made history by becoming the first African side ever to make it to the semifinals of a World Cup tournament following their giant slaying 1-0 victory over Portugal in the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup quarterfinal encounter played on Saturday evening.In the encounter staged at the Al Thumama Stadium, the Moroccans resolutely and spiritedly held onto Youssef En Nesyri’s first half strike to progress at the expense of Portuguese as they went into the history books under the stewardship of Walid Regragui who had also become the first African coach to steer a team at the last eight of a World Cup competition.𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘! 🦁🇲🇦Morocco become the first African side to reach #FIFAWorldCup semi-finals! 👏What an achievement by the Atlas Lions! 🤩@EnMaroc pic.twitter.com/yJh5jPE8Na— CAF (@CAF_Online) December 10, 2022 First HalfAfter a tentative start to the game, it was Portugal who got the first meaningful chance on goal in the 5th minute when Joao Felix’s header from a Bruno Fernandes free kick found the target but an alert Bounou was well positioned to punch it out for a corner which resulted to nothing.Just two minutes later, Morocco responded by making their first attack when they sprung on a counter attack which led to a corner that would have caused some trouble had En Nesyri just placed his headed attempt on target.A moment in timeA moment in historyThe FIRST-EVER African nation to reach a #FIFAWorldCup Semi-Finals 🇲🇦❤️ pic.twitter.com/SeAOKngZna— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 10, 2022 En Nesyri got another chance in the 25th minute after his clever run on a Morocco free kick freed him up in the box but the Sevilla striker missed the target once again with his header veering way off target.Having failed to utilize their chances, the Atlas Lions almost found themselves trailing on the half hour mark when Felix’s deflected shot caused the most panic as it agonizingly went just over the bar for a corner kick with Bounou well beaten in between the sticks.المستحيل ليس مغربيا ولن يكون أبدا مغربيا….نهاية المقابلة بفوز المنتخب الوطني على منتخب البرتغال والتأهل إلى نصف نهائي المونديال 🤯🤩#DimaMaghrib 🇲🇦 #TeamMorocco #FIFAWorldCup @pumafootball pic.twitter.com/ADEBLNEelc— Équipe du Maroc (@EnMaroc) December 10, 2022 Following the scare, Morocco responded by carving out two well worked chances minutes later but the finishing by Selim Amallah and Sofiane Boufal just let them down.Three minutes to the half time break, however, the Moroccans, who had grown in leaps and bounds in terms of their confidence and ball retention after a coy start, managed to break the duck as En Nesyri rose highest to head in a sumptuous Yahya Attiat-Allah cross into the back of the net after outwitting goalkeeper Diogo Costa and Ruben Dias to the flight of the ball to give his side an important lead.Morocco goalBruno Fernandes’ brilliance almost restored parity just a minute later but his instant snapshot just cannoned off the crossbar despite Bounou having been beaten.On the other end, Attiat-Allah would have given Morocco a dream two goal advantage at the break after Boufal rolled the ball to him but the left back, with no pressure whatsoever, failed to make anything meaningful.##NAJAVA_MECA_6882930##Second HalfJust five minutes into the second half, Portugal head coach Fernando Santos did not hesitate in making changes as he brought on Cristiano Ronaldo and Joao Cancelo in place of Raphael Guerreiro and Ruben Neves to try and change the game.While Portugal’s sub was for comfort, Walid Regragui was forced into subbing off his captain Romain Saiss who could not continue anymore with his heavily strapped thigh.Uma equipa que deu tudo em campo. Adeptos que nunca se cansaram de puxar pela Seleção, em qualquer parte do mundo. Queríamos todos chegar mais longe, mas vamos continuar juntos a orgulhar Portugal. 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/UAmMNgPN3o— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) December 10, 2022 With the Portuguese turning up the heat, and the Moroccans retreating further and further, Fernandes almost found the back of the net from the edge of the box but once again his rasping shot just went over the crossbar much to his and his team’s frustration as Morocco breathed in another sigh of relief.The Portuguese kept on heaping the pressure and Round of 16 goalkeeper hero Bounou denied Felix what looked like a certain goal in the 82nd minute when he jumped out of his body to punched the curling shot over the goal to Morocco’s dream alive.England vs France – the most valuable duel in the history of sportsOn the stroke of full time, Portugal’s top scoring player Ronaldo was teed up by a delicious through ball that caught the Moroccan rear guard napping but even the sporting great could not conjure anything past a brilliant Bounou who went down low to make a crucial save that kept Morocco ahead.That moment would mark the final meaningful moment from the Euro 2016 winners who have now failed to reach the semifinals for a fourth successive World Cup finals appearance as Morocco await winner between France and England in the semifinals.1970: First African team to earn a point1986: First African team to reach the knockouts2022: First African team to reach the semifinalsMOROCCO CONTINUE TO MAKE HISTORY AT THE MEN’S WORLD CUP 👏 pic.twitter.com/x9qVj1D0Jj— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 10, 2022 QATAR 2022 WORLD CUP1/4 FINALSFridayCroatia – Brazil 1-1 AET (0-0)/Petkovic 117 – Neymar 105+1/Croatia wins on penalties 4-2Netherlands – Argentina 2-2AET (0-1)/Weghorst 83, 90+11 – Molina 35, Messi 73 pen/Argentina wins on penalties 4-3SaturdayMorocco – Portugal x-x (1-0)/En-Nesyri 42/22.00: (3.00) England (3.05) France (2.70)***odds are subject to change
