Morocco, Portugal claim final spots in Qatar quarterfinals

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Published: 07 Dec. 2022, 17:14 Updated: 07 Dec. 2022, 17:46

Morocco, Portugal claim final spots in Qatar quarterfinals

Portugal's Goncalo Ramos celebrates after scoring his team's fifth goal, his hat-trick, during a Qatar 2022 World Cup round of 16 match between Portugal and Switzerland at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Tuesday. [AFP/YONHAP]

The round of 16 ended in dramatic fashion at the 2022 Qatar World Cup on Tuesday as Morocco knocked out world No. 7 Spain and Portugal tore Switzerland to pieces in a huge 6-1 win.

The Portugal game may have had the goals, but it was Morocco vs. Spain that brought the drama, introducing the world to a new footballing hero in the form of indefatigable goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who plays with Bono on his shirt.

Bounou played a crucial role throughout the game, holding off Spain for 120 minutes and then entirely shutting down the penalty shootout, allowing Morocco to advance without conceding a single goal.

Morocco's goalkeeper Yassine Bounou saves a penalty kick during a World Cup round of 16 match between Morocco and Spain at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar on Tuesday. [AP/YONHAP]

Although the world may only just be waking up to the Sevilla goalkeeper’s dominance, Tuesday’s game was actually more of the same for Morocco — the African side has only conceded one goal in the entire tournament so far, and they scored that one themselves.

There were heroes elsewhere on the pitch as well. Achraf Hakimi was responsible for scoring the winning penalty, a cheeky little dink straight down the middle delivered with such composure it looked like just another day at the office for the Paris Saint-Germain defender.

The crowd also played their part, uniting to create a solid wall of noise whenever Spain had possession. Considering Spain had 77 percent of the possession, a lot of jeering, drumming and shouting was required.

Spain’s Pablo Sarabia was perhaps the greatest tragedy of the game. Brought on in the 118th minute for his first taste of the World Cup, Sarabia managed to hit the post three minutes into injury time and then do it again when he stepped up to take the first penalty.

Morocco's Jawad El Yamiq, top, celebrates with teammates after the penalty shootout at the World Cup round of 16 match between Morocco and Spain at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar on Tuesday. [AP/YONHAP]

Bounou saved the next two, allowing Morocco to quickly pull ahead and take the game. Reflecting on his team’s performance after the match, Spain manager Luis Enrique said: “I wouldn’t change anything, just their goalkeeper.”

The victory makes Morocco the first African side ever to a win a penalty shootout at a World Cup and only the fourth to advance to the quarterfinals. Morocco is both the only African and only Arab nation left in the tournament, leaving the Atlas Lions with a rapidly growing fanbase in Qatar.

While the Morocco game provided the most intrigue, Portugal put on a show with a good old-fashioned thrashing of Switzerland. And crucially, they did it without Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portugal manager Fernando Santos benched Ronaldo, who had reportedly loudly objected to being substituted during an earlier game against Korea.

The ageing top scorer, an increasingly divisive figure in world football, is currently without a club after being released for publicly criticizing Manchester United, who he felt were not showing him the respect he deserves. He may soon be without a national team as well — if Tuesday’s result showed anything, it’s that Gonçalo Ramos has a lot more to offer the Portuguese team that Ronaldo.

Ramos, a 21-year-old with just half an hour of international experience before Tuesday, was picked to replace Ronaldo. The Benfica forward did not miss his chance, scoring a hat-trick to lead Portugal to the quarterfinals.

Ramos is the first hat-trick scorer in Qatar and, with such a dominant performance under his belt, looks like an obvious pick for the quarterfinal against Morocco. Ronaldo, it seems, is likely to be relegated to the bench again.

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during a Qatar 2022 World Cup round of 16 match between Portugal and Switzerland at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Tuesday. [AFP/YONHAP]

The sidelining of Ronaldo marks a historic turning point in Portuguese football. The country has been reliant on him for so long that the last time they started a tournament game without him in the starting XI was at the 2004 Euros.

The decision clearly was not an unpopular one — prior to the game, Portuguese sports newspaper A Bola found that 70 percent of respondents thought Ronaldo shouldn’t start.

Alongside Ramos, goals came from Kleper Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro and Rafael Leao. Pepe’s goal was particularly notable, with the 39-year-old becoming the oldest player ever to score in a World Cup knockout game.

Switzerland’s one goal came from Manuel Akanji with a lovely strike to give Swiss fans something to get excited about, but it was obviously far too little, far too late.

There will now be a two-day break before the quarterfinals kick off on Friday. Croatia will face Brazil in the opening game, followed by the Netherlands vs. Argentina. On Saturday, Morocco will take on Portugal and England will face France.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]

korea joongAng daily

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Morocco, Portugal claim final spots in Qatar quarterfinals

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