Morocco becomes first African team to reach the World Cup semifinals after shocking victory over Portugal

Youssef En-Nesyri secured Morocco’s historic 1-0 victory against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal in their World Cup quarterfinal match on Saturday. 

At Al Thumama Stadium, the Atlas Lions achieved history by becoming the first African team to get to the World Cup semi-finals.

Walid Regragui’s squad shocked the odds by finishing top in Group F, above Belgium, Croatia, and Portugal, and without suffering a single loss (W2, D1). Following a scoreless draw in the round of 16, the Atlas Lions pulled off another upset by eliminating Spain in a penalty shootout.

After beating Iran and becoming the first Arab nation to reach the World Cup quarterfinals, Morocco faced Portugal with nothing to lose. But the Moroccans were focused on getting even following a 1-0 loss in the World Cup group stages in 2018.

Wanting to make a clean sweep of the Iberian Peninsula in a few days, Morocco used the same strategy that had helped them defeat Spain. Even though Portugal made the initial move through Joao Felix, it was Regragui’s squad that finally broke the deadlock midway through the first half.

On the stroke of halftime, Sevilla striker En-Nesyri scored on a cross from Yahia Attiyat-Allah, who had replaced Noussair Mazzraoui on the left side of defense. It’s important to point out that the Selecao goalie, Diogo Costa, really aided him by misjudging the cross.

Morocco was able to ride off the storm thanks to another impressive defensive showing in the second half.

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