Morocco-Portugal 1-0, En-Nesyry goals and Africa in the semifinal, Ronaldo at home – Corriere.it

The semi-final that you don’t expect is that of Morocco which, after Spain, also takes out Portugal and becomes the first African national team to land among the best four at the World Cup.

In the first half, the Lions of the Atlas show no awe – it will be the red shirt with green trousers, as could be that of the Lusitanians – and, after a couple of chances that happened to Joao Felix, they even finished with the lead: in the 42nd minute the unleashed Attiat-Allah from the left invents a new cut cross, Diogo Costa comes out very badly and Morocco’s centre-forward En-Nesyri heads in. Immediately afterwards, Portugal hit a sensational crossbar with Bruno Fernandes who mocked Bounou with a great first right foot. But in the end of the half the African national team came close to scoring again, this time with Attiat-Allah: left footed goal. Morocco definitely better in the restarts.

In the second half, after a few minutes and another chance for El-Yamiq, coach Fernando Santos played the Cristiano Ronaldo card together with that of Cancelo. More or less at the same time, Morocco lost its captain, Saiss, the pivot of the defence, who succumbed to an injury.

In the 64th minute Portugal nearly equalized with Bruno Fernandes who controlled and kicked to the limit: the ball was just a little high and Portugal’s number 8 was desperate. The plot becomes that of the Europeans who play in the last 40 meters and the Africans who aim to resist fighting on every pass. Fernando Santos then also throws Leao and Vitinha into the fray.

However, Morocco again became dangerous: in the 75th minute a massive restart and the ball in the area in Cheddira: the Bari forward was stopped by Ruben Dias before shooting. On the other hand, in the 82nd minute Bounou returned: Joao Felix kicked from the edge of the area and sent the goalkeeper flying, who managed to deflect for a corner kick with a great kick from the back.

(Article being updated)