Morocco’s players celebrate with their supporters after winning the Qatar 2022 World Cup quarterfinal football match between Morocco and Portugal at the Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar on December 10, 2022. Credit: Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV—AFP/Getty Images
Morocco will advance to the semifinals after a historic win over Portugal at the 2022 World Cup on Saturday. Morocco won the match, 1-0, and is the first African country to go that far in the World Cup. In the semi-finals, Morocco will face England or France.
Portugal, with star player Cristiano Ronaldo, was the favorite to win the match, but the team did not score. Youssef En-Nesyri scored the only goal of the game in the 42nd minute just before halftime, assisted by Yahya Attiat-Allah. The team’s impressive winning streak now spans five games and is attributed to their solid defense, including that of goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. So far, none of the team’s opponents – Croatia, Belgium, Canada, Spain or Portugal – have scored against Morocco, who have conceded just one own goal in the tournament.
“It’s an incredible feeling. No one thought we could do it. I said last week that we want to end the curse,” Moroccan soccer player Abdelhamid Sabiri told German news channel ZDF, according to Al Jazeera. “We are taking it one game at a time. We want to win every game.”
Morocco’s victory has fueled excitement across the Arab world and its diaspora in an already momentous year with Qatar becoming the first Arab country to host a World Cup. Saturday’s match, coupled with Morocco’s latest victory over Spain on December 6, caused celebrations to break out in the streets of Rabatin France, home to a large Moroccan community, and at the World Cup itself in Doha.
The other teams that have been confirmed to play in the semifinals are Argentina and Croatia. The semifinals will feature two matches of two teams each and will take place next week, on December 13 and 14. The winners will compete in the final on December 18.
