Morocco has become the first African country in history to reach the World Cup semi-finals by beating Portugal 1-0 in the quarter-finals on Saturday, November 10th. Youssef En-Nesyri scored the winning header in the 42nd minute to continue Morocco’s surreal victory in the World Cup that has accumulated an efflux of pride in the Arab world in the first World Cup to be staged in the Middle East.
Morocco has outdone three other African sides to reach the quarter-finals — Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002, and Ghana in 2010. The eventful game took place at Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, but Cristiano Ronaldo, five times Ballon d’Or winner, was not a part of the first half of the game. He was brought in at 51 minutes for Ruben Neves.
Morocco will now play against France in the semi-finals, joining Argentina and Croatia, who qualified for the final four on Friday, December 9th. It is a historic semi-final moment in World Cup history, with an African nation advancing to the levels typically only reached by the South American or European team.
