World Cup Now: Who was Morocco's man of the match vs. Portugal?
Morocco took down Portugal, 1-0, on Saturday in the 2022 FIFA World Cup's penultimate quarterfinal match to advance to the semifinals for the first time in men's national team history, becoming the first African team in the tournament's history to do so.
Things were stalemate until the end of the first half, when Youssef En-Nesyri scored on a beautiful header in 42nd minute — Morocco's first knockout-stage goal in a World Cup.
Portugal superstar and team captain Cristiano Ronaldo was relegated to the bench to start for the team's second straight game. He took the field in the second half after Portugal fell behind, but wasn't enough to provide a much-needed spark.
The second half was a defensive battle by both teams. Portugal was able to get a few shots on net, including one in extra time by Ronaldo, but nothing went through and Morocco held on to win 1-0.
On the latest "World Cup Now," former USMNT players Jimmy Conrad, DaMarcus Beasley and Sacha Kljestan break down Morocco's win and share who they believe the man of the match was against a powerhouse Portugal team.
Conrad: I'm going with Morocco's manager Walid Regragui for this one. I thought he once again masterminded a terrific game plan that the players executed at a very high level. They've been consistently doing that, so however he's communicating has been excellent. I think he's going to be able to manage anywhere that he wants after this run.
Beasley: My pick is Jawad El Yamiq, the center back. I thought he was incredible. He won everything in the air — every single head ball. He defended well. He covered well when they went up to two strikes up top. He was all over the field. I want to give a shutout to him because I thought his performance was outstanding today.
Kljestan: Sofyan Amrabat is the heart of the Atlas Lions. We saw him in the 95th minute leading the charge on the counter-attack again. It's like this guy has three lungs. He's running like 10 miles a game. He's throwing in tackles. All the while, we've been reading reports that he has a major back injury and is having to take injections before every game just to be out there, and he's doing it at 90 minutes every single time. This guy is amazing.
Morocco vs. Portugal Highlights
Read more from the World Cup:
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- World Cup Now: Croatia shows beauty of World Cup in upset over Brazil
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- Neymar tied Pelé's all-time record for goals scored in Brazil's loss
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- As soccer's popularity grows, so does World Cup tradition with sticking power
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Check out the full schedule for the World Cup and how to watch each match live here.
