Morocco became the first Arab and African nation to reach the World Cup semi-final after they beat Portugal 1-0 at the Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar. Striker Youssef En-Nesyri scored the winner in the first half, leaping highest to beat goalkeeper Diogo Costa to the ball and heading in to spark pandemonium. The north African side's supporters populated most of the stadium and joyously celebrated their breakthrough moment on the global stage. They held on to book their spot in the semis and will now be dreaming of going all the way. Gulf News football experts discuss the match and what it means to the country and football as a whole.
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00:00You're watching Golf News kicking back where Morocco have stunned Portugal to become the
00:13first ever Arab and African side to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. Guys, this
00:20is an absolutely huge story. It's unbelievable. But to be honest, I called it. I have been
00:25tipping them. So I'm not playing my own trumpet here, but I've seen the way they've been playing
00:30from the group stages that this team has got something special in them. And after that
00:34Spain shock, they've pulled off another one, Sean, by beating Portugal. Just sum up how
00:39massive a football story that this is. Imran, this has been the story of this World
00:47Cup, the fairy tale run of Morocco, the first Arab nation to enter the semis, the first
00:53African nation to enter the semis. So this is the story of this World Cup. So years later,
00:59when you look back at this World Cup, more than the winner, if Morocco is not the winner,
01:08you will always look back and say, this is Morocco's World Cup. Such has been their influence
01:14on this World Cup. And what a story it has been. And not just that, although even after
01:21the upset of Spain, I have called them to make the semis. But Portugal's demolition of 6-1
01:29demolition in the quarter-finals made me change my mind. And Morocco showed me today how wrong
01:35I was. Not just that, they came out so positive today. I was surprised by their positivity.
01:42Normally, they would sit back and defend and cast them on the counters. Today, they put
01:49their front foot ahead. They pushed Spain, they pressured Spain, they ran them ragged in the
01:56initial stages. So they were keen to get that goal. And you knew that goal was coming. It was
02:00just a matter of time. And once that goal came in, Morocco went back to their usual selves.
02:07And Morocco is the team, the only team in this World Cup who has not conceded a goal. The only
02:12goal that they conceded was his own goal, which means no team, including Portugal, hasn't scored
02:18a goal against them. So which means they deserve every bit of that accolade. And I only wish they
02:25go all the way into the final because that would be the ultimate tagline for this World Cup.
02:33Satish, look, we're calling this a shock win again. But if you just study that performance
02:38by the Moroccans, they were superb, yet again, from the very first minute right until the end,
02:44from their defence, from the midfield to their attack. I mean, Portugal had the chances. Fernandes
02:48came very close. As soon as Morocco had taken the lead, he hit the crossbar with a lovely effort
02:54from a tight angle. He was unlucky. And then in the second half, he had another chance, just cleared
02:58the bar with a 20-yard drive. But if you just study the performance, I mean, honestly speaking,
03:03if you didn't know the two names of these two teams, and you were just watching Team A
03:07and Team B playing, you would say Team A was far better and deserved to win. And that was Morocco.
03:13Absolutely, Imran. You're spot on. Because they played to a plan. And yesterday, if you look at
03:22the Moroccan coach said, we'll be very happy if Ronaldo is benched. And obviously, he got
03:28a very positive news at the start. So he was benched also. But of course, he came in as a
03:32substitute, I think in the first minute or something. But I think, all in all, it was a
03:39great game by Morocco, which was also helped by Portugal in a way that they could have played…
03:46Once Ronaldo came in, it brought in that momentum, which could have been injected
03:52much earlier than almost at the 51st minute. I think there was a point when we were all worried,
03:59like, will they be able to defend the 30-odd minutes of the barrage that Portugal was throwing
04:06at them? But they did very well. And then they showed that they are good with defence as well
04:11as an attack. So it was all together a brilliant performance from Morocco. And another point that
04:17I would also like to make is that these kinds of performances in a World Cup will take a long way,
04:23not just the country, probably a continent itself. Like in various sports, we have seen
04:28that the tectonic shift happens once one team makes this breakthrough. So that way,
04:35it will have a wider and bigger impact on the world football itself to the region, Arab region,
04:41as well as the African region, where the teams can believe that they can beat European teams
04:48and other teams. That belief will come in now. That's a very good point, Stish. In fact, Pele
04:53made the very same point. He said before, by 2026 rather, he believes an African team,
04:58Arab team is going to reach the final and win it. And we're looking at it right now. It really does
05:03look like that Moroccan, the Morocco rather, with the way that they're playing, with the confidence
05:07that they've got, with the whole region behind them especially, they very likely now can go all
05:12the way. Shama, I just want to talk about the goal, because I mean, that was an absolutely
05:15fantastic header from Youssef El Nesri. It was a superb leap in the air. He hung in the air very
05:21much like Cristiano Ronaldo has done in his whole career. He hung up there. OK, it was a mistake
05:26from the keeper. You know, he came out very early. He should have stayed on his line, I think.
05:29And he probably would have easily just caught the ball. But full credit for El Nesri for
05:34getting up there very much like Ronaldo and giving the team the lead. And they defended
05:39stoutly from there on, didn't they? Yes, yes, of course, Imran. But before I get to the goal,
05:45let me correct you. Pele was off the mark by 20 years, because he said by 2000,
05:52we'll have a champion from Africa. So, I think…
05:58I've given him 26 more years.
06:00Yes, 22 years late doesn't matter. But so long as we get an African champion, we will celebrate
06:05that. Now, coming back to the goal. Yes, I mean, I know all the commentators are blaming the
06:12goalkeeper here. But it's a tough ask. He had to come out of the six-yard box. I mean, he had to
06:18quite a distance from his goal line to reach the bottom. And I don't think he got anywhere near
06:23the ball. It looked like a gifted goal. But the thing is, I think the full marks to El Nesri.
06:30That leap was brilliant. Like you said, it was almost like Ronaldo. A high leap and hanging in
06:36there just to get the right amount of nod into that. I would say, more than that, more than the
06:42goalkeeper. I thought it was poor defending from the Portuguese, really. But I think that goal was
06:49perhaps one of the best goals in this tournament, seriously. And I thought that the goalkeeper
06:58needlessly got a lot of flak for that. I don't think. Because you can't come so far from the
07:05goal line to parry that away. But he got nowhere near it.
07:12Yeah, you know, when you come out that far, Diego Costa's keeper, you have to make sure you get the
07:16ball. I mean, you've got the advantage of jumping up and using your hands. But he was
07:20towered above by the striker. It was an absolutely tremendous header to give the side the lead.
07:25It's an incredible result, these guys. It sends shockwaves across the world, I think.
07:29The Atlas Lions have sent the whole of Africa and the whole of Arabia wild with an upset for
07:35the ages. But we've talked about Ronaldo a couple of times, just as we were discussing the goal.
07:39Ronaldo, at the end of this match, he stormed off without shaking anybody's hand. It was in tears.
07:45It was, to be honest, he's let himself down, I think, guys. I mean, you know, being the eldest
07:50statesman in football, having achieved so much in his career, he should have at least had the
07:55sportsmanship to shake the hands of Moroccan players and his own teammates as well. There
07:58were some youngsters in there, you know, who will be very upset, obviously, of going out to the stage.
08:02But in the end, it would look like quite a selfish act. He was in tears, clearly, and he stormed off
08:07into the tunnel and not to be seen since. What do you make of that reaction, Satish, from Ronaldo?
08:12Do you expect a bit better from somebody like him?
08:17Of course, Imran. We wanted to see these stars, these superstars being a role model in
08:25setting out the right message. By not showing the sportsmanship, yes, he might be dejected. But
08:32that's what it is all about. You have to overcome that. You have to be able to overcome the
08:38opposition in you to meet your rival or your teammates, to go through that and then have your
08:45emotions. That's where these are called superstars. I think it's not sending the right message.
08:51Probably, there is a lot of conflict within the Portugal team, though there have been talks that
08:56everything is fine. So maybe he's fighting various psychological battles, one with the
09:02Man Utd, one with Portugal, one with himself after the loss. But still, whatever is said and done,
09:08you got to behave the way a sportsman should behave. It should have been a supportive
09:15gesture where he should have shook hands with the players and then spend his time,
09:20because probably it was his last World Cup match. So maybe a few seconds, a few minutes
09:25wouldn't have made much of a difference in his career.
09:28Yeah. Shaan, what do you think? Were you disappointed or were you not surprised
09:32considering, as Satish pointed out, he's had a lot of stress with his club level and everything.
09:36He's been benched for the last two games for Portugal as well. But still, this is a player
09:40who has achieved absolutely everything. Okay, now clearly the World Cup is missed. He's not going to
09:45at 37, he'll be 41 when the next tournament starts. He most likely will not be playing
09:49in America when the next World Cup starts. So this ship has sailed, so to speak. But do you think…
09:56I think we all can safely assume that we expected a lot better from a person who normally is very
10:02good when it comes to situations like this. Frankly, Imran, I was not at all surprised.
10:07This is totally in character with the Ronaldo we have seen of late. I mean, he is so bitter
10:15and he thinks the whole world is against him. I mean, whatever be the reason, he is 37.
10:22You are not talking about a kid. You are not talking about a 20-year-old. You are talking
10:25about a 37-year-old man who has conquered pretty much everything in football. There is a peak,
10:32he is not scaled in football. So what are we asking? Can't he show the basic courtesy,
10:39show some grace? I mean, that is what you expect of him. But to expect that from Ronaldo,
10:47I think it's a little too much. I know I am being nasty here, but that is what Ronaldo has become
10:53now. Now contrast that with what I saw from Neymar yesterday. I am not a huge fan of Neymar.
11:00I admire his skills, but I hate his theatrics on the field. But I saw a fantastic gesture from him.
11:07He was inconsolable yesterday. He was sitting on the pitch, he was standing there. Then he stood
11:13up and was talking to some of the Brazilian officials there. And you saw Luka Modric's
11:19children and especially his son run up to Neymar and the officials just tried to shoo him away,
11:25shoo that boy away. Neymar came out, shook hands with this guy and that boy was really,
11:32really thrilled. And that is the kind of gesture you want to see from a superstar.
11:36And I would have liked to see something like that from Ronaldo. I mean, not just in my esteem,
11:44he would have risen in everybody's, the whole footballing world's esteem. Because even now,
11:49Ronaldo is a hero of too many. People still love him. Every time his name is called out in the
11:54stadium, the applause rings out in the stadium. Every time he comes out on the field, people
12:00applaud him. So, people still love him. So, he needs to return that love. He needs to return
12:05that love by showing good graces, good behaviour. And today, I know he was crestfallen, he was
12:12rejected. But that is no reason to go and applaud your opponent. Say, well done and wish them well.
12:20I mean, that is what good people do. And that's what good footballers do. That's what sportsmanship
12:25is all about. But Ronaldo didn't show any of that. Yeah, it was quite selfish from him. But
12:32just going back to Morocco now. Satish, they've played at this Al-Tumama Stadium and they've won
12:38three times there now. They beat Belgium there, they beat Canada there. And now they've beaten
12:41Portugal there. I mean, just have a little say about the fans at the stadium. Because honestly,
12:46the fans, you couldn't even hear the referee's whistle. They were making so much noise and so
12:51much passion. I mean, it was absolutely incredible. The Portuguese fans were completely outnumbered as
12:56well from the very beginning. In fact, the fans that started coming into the stadium in an hour
13:00before kick-off, they were ready, they were prepared. They were, you know, going to give
13:03their team absolutely every ounce of support that they could. And they did. Just how good
13:08have the Moroccan support been? Oh, amazing. See, the entire region was behind Morocco now.
13:14And they probably can consider it as their home turf. It can't get any closer than that,
13:20probably, right now. So, it was amazing. In fact, I think I read the story yesterday,
13:26there have been fans clamouring for flight tickets, clamouring for match tickets,
13:31hire a car. And people are, you know, like, desperate to reach there. That showed the amount
13:37of importance or the popularity that this victory against Spain has brought on the stage,
13:44the quarter-finals. So, amazing. So, these are some of the happy feelings that you wanted to
13:50see from these minnows, especially, because that will go a long way in helping their team.
13:56But of course, it's all about crowd support. The moment you have so much crowd behind you,
14:02they might be feeling at home. That would give you that extra confidence
14:06to go ahead and do what they wanted to do. These are small things, but it matters a lot
14:11when it comes up in the total picture. Absolutely right. And I think the way now,
14:17having reached the semi-finals, this support is just going to grow and grow and grow.
14:21And like, you know, like I've said before, I can really see this team reaching the final.
14:26They're just playing superbly. You know, if you just sum up the way they've been playing,
14:30they're robust at the back. They're good in midfield. And when they get a chance,
14:35they tuck it away. So, they'll be playing the winner against England and France,
14:38which is about to kick off in the next hour. That's going to be an excellent match to see.
14:43So, we're going to be back to see who is in the semi-final. It'll be played on Tuesday and
14:48Wednesday. And well, I mean, it's been tremendous. It's been a superb World Cup up until now. But
14:54this story really is the biggest probably that we've ever seen. Far bigger than Saudi Arabia
15:00beating Argentina. Bigger than Japan beating Germany and Spain. This is going to be spoken
15:05about. Like Shams has said, they've reached the final now. Having reached this stage is just an
15:09absolutely incredible achievement. And well done to them. That's all from us. Thanks to the guys.
15:14Check out golfnews.com for all the latest news and reviews. And check us out on social media.
15:18And we'll be back to talk about the semi-finals in our next update. Thanks, guys, and good night.
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