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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Kieran King

Portugal OUT of World Cup as Morocco produce another shock - 5 talking points

Morocco continued their remarkable World Cup campaign by producing another shock result as they defeated Portugal 1-0 to book a place in the semi-final and leave Cristiano Ronaldo in tears.

Portugal started the brighter of the two sides and almost opened the scoring in the sixth minute, but Yassine Bounou made a fantastic stop to save Joao Felix's close-range header. However, Morocco grew into the game and deservedly took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Youssef En-Nesyri.

Yahya Attiat-Allah's cross was headed home by the Sevilla forward to give the North Africans a slender advantage heading into the interval. Portugal pushed to grab a leveller, and came close through Bruno Fernandes and Felix again, but couldn't find a way past Bounou.

Morocco defended resolutely throughout, and although Walid Ceddira was sent off in added-time, they held out to claim another historic win and book a last four tie against either France or England on Wednesday.

Here are five talking points from the Al Thumana Stadium.

En-Nesyri and Morocco create history

It proved to be a memorable evening for Sevilla's En-Nesyri, who became the first Moroccan to score in the quarter-final of a World Cup - and what an important strike it was. In a tight first-half, the North Africans took the lead in the 41st minute through that man En-Nesyri, who prodded home his second goal of the tournament.

A superb team move was finished off by the 25-year-old, who got there before Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa and headed the ball into the back of the net. It was a goal that created jubilant scenes amongst the masses of Morocco fans inside the stadium, and their supporters would be in delirium after the final whistle.

Youssef En-Nesyri scored his second World Cup goal against Portugal (Getty Images)

No African team had previously qualified for the last four of a World Cup, but Morocco defied the odds to do it again. Portugal were firm favourites heading into the game, but it didn't matter as Walid Regragui's side played with determination and aggression to stop their opponents from progressing. It is a famous result and they will now face either France or England in the semi-final on Wednesday.

Inspiring Bono

A lot has been made of Morocco's solid back-four at the World Cup but someone who has gone under the radar is their goalkeeper, Bounou, who produced another excellent performance. The 31-year-old was in terrific form to keep a clean sheet against Spain and produced the goods once again in their win over Portugal.

Bounou was first called into action in the sixth minute as Felix's header was goalbound, before the 'keeper made a remarkable save, beating the ball behind for a corner. He made another smart stop to deny Felix again on 83 minutes as his rasping effort was flying into the top corner, but Bounou stuck his right hand out to tip it over the bar.

It wasn't just his saves that stood out, Bounou was commanding in the air and claimed every cross he came for - including one in the first-half that he got clattered as Bruno Fernandes tried to get a head on the delivery. He showed so much composure in possession, too, and whenever Portugal pressed him, he didn't panic and passed the ball out of the back when he needed to.

Yassine Bounou produced a stunning performance for Morocco (Getty Images)

Portugal fail to deliver at another World Cup

Portugal have a retched record at World Cups, and despite all the optimism coming into this tournament, Fernando Santos' side were unable to fulfil those pre-tournament predictions. The Selecao have never won the tournament, having only ever reached the semi-finals on two occasions, but they had a terrific opportunity to do so in Qatar.

Santos' men were tipped to beat Morocco and make the semi-final but they lacked any guile and composure in the final third to score. Fernandes had an off day and struggled to make an impact, while their other attacking assets, such as Felix, Bernardo Silva and Goncalo Ramos, failed to deliver as they crashed out.

Portugal crashed out of the World Cup with defeat against Morocco (Getty Images)

Ronaldo's disappointing cameo

Unsurprisingly, Cristiano Ronaldo stole the headlines after Portugal's 6-1 thrashing of Switzerland on Tuesday. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was dropped for the game, with his replacement, Goncalo Ramos, scoring a hat-trick to help his side progress through to the next round.

Despite being benched once again for the clash with Morocco, Ronaldo was called upon in the 50th minute with Santos' side needing his talisman to come and produce on the pitch. However, Ronaldo didn't produce the impact his manager may have wanted as he struggled throughout his time on the pitch.

Ronaldo had a late chance to equalise after being played through on goal but his effort was well saved by Bounou. The forward was pictured in tears after the final whistle as his frustrating season continues following his release from Manchester United.

It wasn't his night (Getty Images)

Ticketless fans

Hundreds of ticketless fans tried to force their way into the Al Thumama Stadium before kick-off.

There were thousands of empty seats around the stadium as the game started, as fans with tickets were, it is claimed, prevented in getting into the ground by those without a seat. This is the first time Morocco have ever played in the last eight of a World Cup after beating Spain in the last round on penalties.

There were supporters trying to sneak into the ground without a ticket for the last eight clash. ITV reporter Angus Scott, via presenter Seema Jaswal, said: "There are hundreds of ticketless fans trying to get into the stadium right now, which means that people with tickets are struggling to get in."

Around the 15-20 minute mark, many Morocco fans with tickets, who were unable to get in in time for kick-off, were able to finally begin to fill out the stadium.

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