Morocco is the first Arab and African team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup
The Moroccan national team scored a historic achievement and became the first Arab and African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals, after its exciting victory over its Portuguese counterpart 1-0 today, Saturday, at Al-Thumama Stadium in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar.
The Moroccan national team owes credit for this victory to Youssef Al-Nusairi, the Spanish striker of Seville, who scored the decisive goal in the 42nd minute.
The Moroccan national team will meet in the Golden Square next Wednesday with the winner of the match that brings together later today between France, the World Cup holders, and its English counterpart.
Three African teams have previously reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup, namely Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010), but today the Atlas Lions have become the first Arab and African team to qualify for the semi-finals.
The Moroccan national team maintained its position as the strongest line of defense in the World Cup in Qatar, conceding only once.
The Moroccan national team presented a distinguished march in the World Cup in Qatar, where it topped its group with seven points from a goalless draw with Croatia, then beat Belgium 2-0 and Canada 2-1, then the historic penalty shootout victory over Spain in the round of sixteen.
For the second consecutive match, Fernando Santos, coach of the Portuguese national team, decided to keep Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench and rely on Goncalo Ramos from the start against Morocco.
Ronaldo was on the bench in the round of 16 match against the Swiss national team last Tuesday, which ended with Portugal winning 6/1.
The Moroccan and Portuguese teams met twice before in the World Cup, and the first ended with Morocco winning 3/1 in the group stage of the 1986 World Cup, then Portugal won 1/0 in the 2018 World Cup.
