Morocco became the first African country in the semi-finals of the World Cup. It knew the crumbling of Cristiano Ronaldo’s big dream.
The World Cup is the biggest emotional roller coaster that the world’s most popular game can offer.
On Saturday, the African country got to feel the joy of progressing to the top four for the first time. Morocco made history and became the first African to advance to the semi-finals in the history of the World Cup.
At the same time, one of the greatest ever, Cristiano Ronaldo the dream of winning the World Cup as a player crumbled forever. Ronaldo, who was in the eye of the storm during the Games, left the locker room crying inconsolably.
Morocco’s journey to the medal games is unparalleled. Spain fell in the quarter-finals and now Portugal in the quarter-finals. Although the team has several big names from Europe’s top leagues, no one expected such a Moroccan success.
– It must be quite a blacksmith who now comes to say that he had predicted this. However, many could foresee that Morocco could surprise. The player material is good and they have some real world stars. There were indications of success, Urheilu’s expert Jonne Kunnas says.
Morocco has conceded only one goal in the tournament, and that too went into the net off the foot of their own player. Defensive play is the main reason for Morocco’s success. Against Portugal, only 23 percent ball control was enough for Morocco to win.
– Really convincing defending, and thus the game was under Morocco’s control. Portugal was not able to create a large number of good goal chances, Kunnas states.
Morocco’s big hero in the quarter-finals was a striker Youssef En-Nesyri, who scored the only goal of the match just moments before the half-time whistle. En-Nesyri beat Portugal’s goalkeeper in the situation Diogo Costa clearly, but according to Kunnas, the whole Portuguese team deserves towels from the setback.
– When Morocco plays the ball on the wing, four of Portugal’s top players walk and one jogs. Even if En-Nesyri had not reached the cross, probably another Moroccan player would have reached the ball next, Kunnas sees.
– Goalkeeper Costa was positioned too far forward, and if you go for a ball like that, you have to win it. It is difficult to understand how he stays behind the attacker.
Morocco’s fans have been perhaps the most visible and, above all, the loudest in the World Cup tournament. The joint celebrations of the team and the fans will go down in the history of the World Cup.
From today onwards, Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, will also go down in the history of the World Cup. He no longer fit into the starting line-up of the team he captained in the playoffs. Sports expert Heidi Pihlaja wondered the action of the superstar after the match.
– My goodness, he is the team captain. He came onto the field and demanded the captain’s armband. He should be leading the team, but he immediately went to the booth crying, and left the rest of the team crying on the field. There isn’t any kind of leadership there, not even there, Pihlaja said.
Morocco will face either France or England in next Wednesday’s semi-final, who will meet later on Saturday.