The Atlas Lions of Morocco are the first African side to reach the the FIFA World Cup semi-final stage after beating Portugal 1-0 in a quarter-final clash.
Youssef En Nesyri scored the only goal in the dying minutes of the first-half of the game at Al Thumama Stadium.
Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo made his way onto the pitch in the 51st minute after starting from the bench. Coach Fernando Santos dropped the five-time Ballon d’Or winner for the last 16 win over Switzerland, and maintained a similar line-up against the North Africans
In a battle of European and African heavyweights, the Portuguese national team had more chances but lacked sharpness when it mattered as Morocco became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals stage of the completion.
It was the Atlas Lions third straight win in the World Cup in five games as they improved their impressive run in the competition to make history.
Portugal were the slight favourites on Saturday but Morocco shockingly beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s side despite finishing the game with ten players following Walid Cheddira’s red card in the late minutes of the game.
Walid Regragui’s side will set up a clash against the winner from the game between France and England.
