Morocco becomes first Arab, African team to qualify for World Cup semi-final

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Published: 11 Dec. 2022, 18:22

Morocco becomes first Arab, African team to qualify for World Cup semi-final

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo walks off the field after being eliminated from the World Cup as Morocco players celebrate winning the quarterfinal match 1-0. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Morocco's Youssef En-Nesyri, center, celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the World Cup quarterfinal match between Morocco and Portugal, at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

After beating Portugal 1-0, Morocco became the first Arab and African team to qualify for a World Cup semi-final and are set to face defending champions France, after they knocked out England 2-1.

This competition has seen many upsets, but Morocco may have just become the underdog tale of the 2022 World Cup.

Having already beaten traditional football powerhouses Belgium and Spain, Morocco on Saturday knocked Portugal out of the tournament.

Morocco's Youssef En-Nesyri, left, heads the ball to score the opening goal past Portugal's goalkeeper Diogo Costa, right, during the World Cup quarterfinal match between Morocco and Portugal, at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

In the 42nd minute, it was Youssef En-Nesyri who scored the sole goal for Morocco, sending a header past Portugal’s goalkeeper Diogo Costa who came out of the box in an attempt to catch the ball, but missed.

Portugal’s Bruno Fernandez nearly scored three minutes after, but the ball hit the woodwork instead.

The first half ended 1-0 and while Portugal tried many shots, goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, also known as Bono, made many crucial saves in addition to Morocco’s strong defense in front of the net.

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after he failed to score during the World Cup quarterfinal match between Morocco and Portugal, at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

Cristiano Ronaldo did not make it into the starting eleven on Saturday, having been dropped once again by manager Fernando Santos after he also sat out Portugal’s last round of 16 win over Switzerland. Goncalo Ramos who had taken Ronaldo’s position for that match and scored a hat-trick agianst Switzerland started on Saturday.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was only seen on the pitch six minutes into the second half. Despite finding a chance to shoot in the first few seconds of injury time, that was also blocked by Morocco’s goalkeeper.

In the third minute of extra time, Morocco was down to 10 men after Walid Cheddira was given a red card but even that could not stop Morocco from winning the match, defending their one-goal lead until the very end.

“Pinch me, I think I’m dreaming,” Yassine Bounou reportedly said after the match. “These moments are great, but we’re here to change the mentality. With this feeling of inferiority, we have to get rid of it. The Moroccan player can face any in the world. The generation coming after us will know we can create miracles.”

For No. 22 Morocco, the 2022 World Cup has been an uphill battle from the start as they were drawn in Group F and were the second lowest-ranked nation before No. 2 Belgium, No. 7 Spain and No. 12 Croatia. No. 41 Canada was the lowest. But one thing this World Cup has shown is that numbers are just numbers.

Morocco’s best World Cup performance prior to this year was reaching the round of 16 in 1986. But after beating Spain to become the first Arab and fourth African country to make the World Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday, Morocco is now on to the semifinals for the first-time ever.

Not only did Morocco become the first Arab and African team to qualify for the semifinal but they did it in spectacular fashion, keeping a clean slate against Belgium, Spain and now Portugal.

Morocco will next meet defending champions France who beat England.

England's Harry Kane reacts after the match on Saturday when England were eliminated from the World Cup while France's Raphael Varane celebrates with teammates as France progressed to the semi finals. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

England suffered a dramatic loss after Harry Kane missed a decisive penalty kick in the 84th minute that could have equalized the scoring to 2-2 and stretched the game longer.

France’s defensive midfielder Tchouameni opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a screamer from outside the box. After 45 minutes of action, it was still France with the upperhand at the end of the first half.

But eight minutes into the second half, Tchouameni conceded a penalty after he brought down Saka inside down the box.
Kane slotted in the ball to the left side of the net beating Hugo Lloris who darted to the right. With the equalizer, Kane is now tied with Wayne Rooney as England’s all-time leading goal scorer.

While both clubs were firing at each other’s nets, it was France to pull through in the 78th minute with a header from Oliver Giroud.

France's goalkeeper Hugo Lloris watches the ball go over the bar after England's Harry Kane took a penalty shot during the quarterfinal match between England and France on Saturday. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

But in dramatic fashion, just four minutes later, Hernandez of France conceded a penalty. Kane took the second penalty of the match, looking to score the equalizer once again. But uncharacteristically for the England captain, the ball flew over the bar.

Unable to make up for the miss, England’s hopes of reaching a World Cup final for the first time since 1966 were dashed when the full-time whistle blew.

“It comes down to execution and as the captain I take that on the chin, and that responsibility, missing the penalty, it’s hard, it’s hard to take for sure,” Kane reportedly said after the match.

“Whenever I prepare, I prepare for if I get one penalty, getting two penalties. I can’t fault my preparation or the detail in the lead-up. I felt as confident for the first as I did for the second. It purely comes down to execution. It hurts now and it will hurt for a long time. But that’s part of being captain and being a leader in the team.”

Les Bleus are now one step closer to defending their title. With the win over England, France are now the first reigning champions to reach the World Cup semi-finals since Brazil in 1998.

The two semfinals will take place on different days. The first leg between Argentina and Croatia will play on Tuesday and the second leg between France and Morocco on Wednesday.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]