Morocco will take on Portugal in it their first World Cup
quarter-final at the Al Thumama stadium in Doha, Qatar.
Morocco is the last
remaining non- European and South American side in the tournament and is in a
bid to become the first team from Africa to make it to the World Cup
semi-finals. Portugal on the other hand will try to give their best in what is
most likely Ronaldo and skipper Pepe’s final World Cup
Here we have a look at a few things to look out for in the
match
1. A chance to rewrite history – Walid Regragui’s men will play the match
on Saturday being fully aware that a victory could take to a historic
semi-final, a feat that none of the African teams thus far have been able to
achieve. Morocco will also try to be the first team after South Korea to enter
the semi-finals of the World as a debutant quarter-finalist.
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2. Portugal’s deadly attack – Team Portugal has been one of
the few sides in the World Cup that has scored in each of its matches thus far.
Portugal is also one of the high-scoring teams having scored 12 goals so far.
The Portuguese attack with Cristiano Ronaldo in it and ably supported by Bruno
Fernandes and Goncalo Ramos is very threatening.
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3. Morocco’s iron defense – Morocco has the distinction of
being the only side in the World Cup thus far which hasn’t conceded a goal by
the opponent yet. The only goal scored over Morocco was an own goal by Nayef
Aguerd in the match against Cananda. Defender Romain Saiss has been joint table
topper of maximum clearances with 30.
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4. Portuguese fire against the cool Bounou: Goalkeeper
Yassine Bounou was the star for Morocco in their pre-quarters match against
Spain as he denied the former champions even one penalty out of 4 attempts.
Against a deadly Portuguese attack, his skills will be put to the severest of
tests.
5. Fan favourites: Morocco enter the third quarter-final as
the clear fan favourites with not just home fans but the entire Arab diaspora
supporting them. Thus, Qatar is the ideal venue for Morocco to try and enter
the record books. However, legendary Cristiano Ronaldo’s presence (not
guaranteed as he was benched against the Swiss), will draw fans for the western
European country too.
