The Moroccan national team aspires to write a new chapter in the history of the FIFA World Cup, and to qualify for the semi-finals of the competition for the first time in the history of its participation, and in the records of African and Arab football, when it faces its Portuguese counterpart today, Saturday, in the third quarter-final confrontation of the World Cup Qatar 2022, at the “Al-Thumama” stadium. in the Qatari capital, Doha.
And when it is six o’clock in the evening Doha time, the hearts of Moroccans dreaming of continuing their wonderful epic in the Arab World Cup will beat, after the Atlas Lions team became, last Tuesday, the first Arab team to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup after winning a penalty shootout against Spain (3-0) after the end of the match. In 120 minutes of regular and extra time without conceding a goal.
And after achieving what observers considered an unprecedented achievement by overcoming the hurdle of Spain, the 2010 World Cup champion, the Moroccan national team, reinforced by the ambition of its players and the confidence of its coach Walid Regragui, aspires to continue its historical adventure and add Portugal to its list of victims, which may again miss veteran star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Morocco wrote its name in golden letters in the current version when it became the first Arab team to achieve this achievement, but it will be on another continental mission against Portugal by becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals, a task that 3 teams from the brown continent failed to do in the history of the World Cup, which is Cameroon in Italy 1990, Senegal in South Korea and Japan (2002), and Ghana in the World Cup in South Africa (2010).
Morocco faces another competitor, after Spain, whom it met in the last edition of Russia 2018, and it is the Portuguese team that beat Switzerland in the final price by a full six, presenting one of its promising strikers, Gonzalo Ramos, who has the historic “hat-trick” against goalkeeper Zomer.
The Atlas Lions will face rehabilitation at the expense of Portugal, which had won 1-0 against Al-Nusairi's colleagues in the second round of the group stage, and knocked the Lions out of the Russian World Cup.
Morocco relied on its defensive solidity, as it conceded one goal and from friendly fire, when defender Nayef Akrad scored in the match against Canada by mistake, in the goal of giant goalkeeper Yassin Bono, the owner of the "epic" against Spain, by saving two penalty kicks.
The "Atlas Lions" hopes to restore its main pillars in the defense line, and it comes to Akord, captain Roman Sayes, and left-back Naseer Mazraoui, who suffered various injuries in the last match against Spain.
Limitless ambitions for Lions
"We always have doubts, like all the matches we have played so far, but we make the decision every time on the day of the match," Morocco coach Walid Regragui said about the injuries of a number of his pillars.
He added, "We have a wonderful medical apparatus that is doing everything in its power to treat the players and prepare them for the day of the matches. Their task is very difficult and sensitive in light of the lack of time, but they have succeeded so far and we have not lost any player."
The trio, Atiyatullah, Al-Yamiq, and Brest defender Ashraf Dari, will be the closest to replacing the injured, Akrad, Sayes and Mazrawi, in the event that they do not recover.
Rekragui is the first Arab coach to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup (Getty Images)
"Morocco did not come to Qatar to play only 3 matches, but rather to go as far as possible. My ambitions and the players have no limits," Rekragui stressed.
He said about the opponent, "We respect Portugal a lot and we watched many matches for it. They are at their level and have high-level strikers, and I think they also know that we are a good team. It is an equal match and it will be decided in the small details."
For its part, the Portugal national team seeks to benefit from the lessons that Morocco taught its competitors, especially "La Roja", to continue its career in the world championship, and to reach the semi-finals for the third time in its history after the first in 1966 when it finished third and 2006 when it finished fourth.
Portugal issued a stern warning to its opponents in the knockout stages, the first of which was Morocco, after its great victory over Switzerland 6-1 in the final price, which came a few days after its sudden fall against South Korea 1-2 in the third and last round of the group stage.
The Spanish star of Atletico Madrid, Joao Felix, said, "Facing the Moroccan national team will not be easy, and it will not be similar to our match against Switzerland.
His coach, Fernando Santos, shares his opinion, saying, "Facing Morocco will be difficult, not only because he succeeded in overcoming Spain, but because the Moroccan players have proven their capabilities throughout the tournament," noting that he faced him in 2018, "but now he has developed further and appears at high levels."
Portugal enters the match with concerns about conflicting news about disagreements between Cristiano Ronaldo and his coach, Santos, who made a surprising decision to keep Ronaldo on the bench last Tuesday, and replaced him with young Gonzalo Ramos.
However, the coach of the Portuguese national football team admitted that Ronaldo was not happy to keep him on the bench against Switzerland in the final price, but he did not threaten to leave the European "Seleção" camp in the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Excitement in "The House Situation"
In the fourth and final confrontation of the quarter-finals, France, the defending champion, will face today, Saturday, in football at Al-Bayt Stadium in Al-Khor, an English team that dreams of repeating the achievement of the 1966 World Cup when it hosted and crowned the tournament.
Despite the attacking power of the "Roosters" with superstar Kylian Mbappe, the tournament's top scorer with five goals so far, things have become more serious in front of the "Three Lions" armed with youthful spirit, whose coach Gareth Southgate led to the European Cup final last summer when it lost on penalties to Italy.
France, which won its second World Cup title in Russia 4 years ago, paved its way to the quarter-finals by defeating Poland 3-1 in the final price, with two goals for Paris Saint-Germain striker Mbappe and another for Olivier Giroud, while England reached this stage after a 3-0 victory over Senegal, despite The wavering start in front of the African champion.
Three Lions right-back Kyle Walker, who is likely to face Mbappe directly, is looking to deflect the impression that Mbappe is France's only threat to England.
"I know he's a big player, but we don't play tennis," says the Manchester City defender. "This is not an individual sport, it is a team game."
"We know he's a great player, and that's why he's at the center of all the questions. But let's not forget (Olivier) Giroud, who scored countless (goals), and (Osmane) Dembélé, for me, is a good example on the other wing." .
And before the possible semi-final match against Portugal or Morocco, the victory of the "Roosters" will be a strong message in the world of football, since since Brazil's achievement in 1998, no title holder has succeeded in reaching the semi-finals of the following finals after winning the title.
Giroud became the historic scorer for France, with 52 goals (Reuters)
In turn, French striker Olivier Giroud, who last Sunday became the historical top scorer for the Dukes, said, "There are 3 matches remaining on the road to defending the title, but we do not want to think about it. We know that it will be great for history, but believe me, we focus on England above all." .
It is certain that the exciting match in the home stadium will enter the history of the French-English competition, as it will be a precedent in the elimination matches after the two teams met twice in the World Cup finals in the group stages when the English excelled in both matches in 1966 and 1982.
England coach Gareth Southgate touched on the possibility of taking penalties, saying, “We have a plan for that but when you get to the end of the match some players may feel that they are not confident enough, or that they are more confident in themselves than others or that they are injured, we have tested all these conditions previously and we are prepared.” as much as possible."
The last English experience with penalty kicks was not successful, as they fell in the final of the European Cup in the summer of 2021 at their stronghold, Wembley, against Italy, and thus were denied their second title in a major football competition since the World Cup in 1966, when they were crowned champions on their land.