The Moroccans after Spain knocked Portugal out of the draw

There will be no Messi vs. Ronaldo final, dear fans. For the second day in a row, anti-football reigns at the World Cup, and the defense again defeats the attack. So the Portuguese team leaves Qatar, and Morocco goes to the semi-finals.

On paper, this match was a repeat of Brazil's fiasco against Croatia yesterday. But there the Brazilians did everything in order to win. The Portuguese did not succeed in the match, and not only because the Moroccan team defended most of the match with reinforced concrete. How else would you tell her to act? Worst of all, in this World Cup, there is no Johan Cruyff or Diego Maradona against such a game, who will prove to the whole world that attacking football is alive and winning.

The mentor of the red-greens Fernando Santos again chose to do without Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting lineup - instead of him again, as in the match with Switzerland, 21-year-old Goncalo Ramos came out. In the first minutes, the North Africans held the ball a little, and then favorably gave it to their opponent. So already in the opening it became clear how the match would go. The most dangerous member of the Portuguese in the first half was Joao Felix, and it was he who succeeded in the first dangerous moment in the fight: Javad El-Yamik lost the ball, Felix picked it up and shot, but the ball rebounded from the back of the Moroccan over the crossbar. But Joao's partners were lost and did not exert systematic pressure on the opponent's goal.

And in the 42nd minute, the Portuguese conceded. Goalkeeper Diogo Costa screwed up: when the ball hit the center of the penalty area to Youssef En-Nesiri, he rushed across, but the Moroccan striker, having outplayed defender Ruben Dias, struck an empty net.

At the last minute of the half, the Portuguese almost leveled the score – Bruno Fernandes hung from the flank, but the ball flew not as intended, but better, straight into the goal, but treacherously hit the crossbar.

The second half was the benefit of the Moroccan team defense. At the 51st minute, Ronaldo appeared on the field, but he could not do anything, although he tried desperately. But where the Moroccans did not keep up, the Portuguese were mistaken.

Inaccurate passes, insufficient aggravations, nervousness growing every minute ... It was only in the 83rd minute that a dangerous moment was created at the gates of Yassin Bunu: Ronaldo rolled the ball from the center of the penalty area to Felix, who aimed at nine, but the goalkeeper parried the blow. In stoppage time, the veterans could have moved the match into overtime, but after a shot, Cristiano covered the ball in time for Bunu, and Pepe, after an excellent pass, missed the goal.

For the first time in World Cup history, an African team will play in the semi-finals. Will the new opponent pick up the keys that the Spaniards and Portuguese could not find?

Match protocol

Morocco - Portugal - 1:0 (1:0).
December 10th. Doha. El Thumama Stadium.
Referee - Tello (Argentina).
Morocco: Bunu, Hakimi, Saiss (Dari, 57), El-Yamik, Attiyyat-alla, Amrabat, Amalla (Sheddira, 65), Unai, Ziyesh (Abukhlal, 82), Bufal (Zhabran, 82), En-Nesiri ( Banun, 65).
Portugal: Diogo Costa, Diogo Dalot (Ricardo Horta 79), Pepe, Ruben Dias, Guerreiro (Joao Cancelo 51), Otavio (Vitinha 69), Bernardo Silva, Ruben Neves (Ronaldo 51), Bruno Fernandes, Joao Felix , Goncalo Ramos (Rafael Leau, 69).
Goal - En-Nesiri (42)
Booked: Dari (70), Vitinya (87), Sheddira (90).
Warned and removed - Sheddira (90).