Ten-man Morocco made history at the magnificent Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar when they became the first African nation to book their place in the semi-finals of the World Cup.
In the first quarter final game of the day, Youssef En-Nesyri scored the winning goal by jumping above Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa to meet a cross from Yahia Attiyat Allah with a towering header in the 42nd minute to give the North African country a shocking victory over Cristiano Ronaldo’s much-fancied European side in a pulsating end-to-end game.
Morocco, now Africa’s pride, is the hope of the continent in the ongoing World Cup.
Ronaldo came off the bench in the 50th minute to equal the men’s all-time appearance record of 196 in international matches, but he could not drag his side back into the contest.
Morocco, who will face England or France in the last four, were happy to play on the counter and grabbed the opener just before the break when En-Nesyri headed in from Yahya Attiyat-Allah’s cross.
Portugal skipper Bruno Fernandes came agonizingly close to levelling just minutes later but a brilliant individual effort struck the crossbar.
Decimated by injuries, Morocco sat back for the majority of the second half and Yassine Bounou brilliantly tipped over Joao Felix’s drive – the closest they came to an equaliser.
Morocco striker Walid Cheddira was sent off for a second yellow card in eight minutes of additional time but Portugal could not find the equaliser as their last-four hopes were dashed.
Morocco’s goalkeeper Yassine Bounou saved a shot by Portugal’s forward Ronaldo during the quarter-final match.
Morocco became the first African team ever to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup after defeating Portugal 1-0 on Saturday.
Morocco have surpassed the three other African sides to reach the quarter-finals – Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010.