Dreams dashed: There were to be no last-gasp World Cup heroics from Cristiano Ronaldo
(Picture: REUTERS)Everywhere you looked at Al Thumama Stadium, there were tears. For Morocco, they were tears of joy, disbelief and pure ecstasy. For Portugal, they were tears of sadness and regret.
History was made here in Qatar as Morocco became the first African team ever to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup.
The noise at the full-time whistle was deafening, a roar that has been building for 92 years and will have been heard all the way back in Marrakesh.
There will be some party there tonight and fans will be singing the name of striker Youssef En-Nesyri, who scored the only goal of the game as Morocco beat Portugal 1-0 in this quarter-final.
It will be a different story in Portugal, who were left stunned by this result. At full-time, captain Cristiano Ronaldo headed straight down the tunnel with tears in his eyes. At 37, his quest to win a World Cup is over.
Ronaldo would have dreamed about this being the day he was a hero, but instead it was Morocco manager Walid Regragui. Only appointed in August, and dubbed ‘Avocado Head’ by pundits, he has guided Morocco to the semi-finals of a World Cup. No one in their wildest dreams predicted this.
Morocco were worthy winners, too. Their defence, as it has been all tournament, was unbreakable and the midfield ahead of them was equally impressive. In attack, Hakim Ziyech and Sofiane Boufal sparkled at times, while En-Nesyri found the vital goal.
Given the spotlight that surrounds Ronaldo, there was plenty of interest around the Portugal team for this game. That, however, contained no surprises as Ronaldo remained on the bench, with Fernando Santos making just one change from the thumping win over Switzerland by bringing in Ruben Neves for William Carvalho.
There was some shock with the Morocco team, though, as they were rocked by the news both West Ham centre-back Nayef Aguerd and Bayern Munich full-back Noussair Mazraoui were out with injury. In came Jawad El Yamiq and Yahya Attiat-Allah, and it was the latter who seized this opportunity to start.
After a tight opening 40 minutes or so, where Joao Felix went closest for Portugal, Attiat-Allah supplied the cross that allowed En-Nesyri to head home. It was a brilliant leap from the striker, who rose higher than anyone else in the box, although the goalkeeping of Portugal’s Diogo Costa left plenty to be desired. He came for the ball, but got thin air.
That goal sparked the game into life. Portugal hit the crossbar through Bruno Fernandes, who also had a penalty shout waved away, and Attiat-Allah wasted a golden chance to make it 2-0 before the break.
Another opportunity went begging at the start of the second half as El Yamiq’s header was saved by Costa. The rebound hit El Yamiq, but somehow it squirmed wide. Santos knew he had to change things and his response was swift, throwing on Ronaldo and Joao Cancelo.
The stage looked set for Ronaldo to be the hero as he came on to make his 196th appearance, the joint-most by any player in the history of men’s football. Morocco, however, were the ones who made history.
Portugal pushed for a goal and they went close to finding it. Fernandes fired an effort just over the bar, Felix was denied by a stunning save, Ronaldo had a shot stopped and Pepe missed a glorious chance when the net looked ready to bulge at the back post.
Portugal’s push grew greater as the whistle and jeers from the fans got louder. They, like the Morocco players, knew history was beckoning and were desperate for their team to hold on.
The Morocco defence did just that, and that was even as Romain Saiss - another one of their regular back four - was carried off on a stretcher, and striker Walid Cheddira was sent-off in injury time for a second yellow card. It mattered not, though, as Morocco held on to create history.
