World Cup Daily: Morocco’s magic upsets Portugal, England denied by France
After every matchday of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Sportsnet.ca’s World Cup Daily weblog will recap the day’s occasions and stay up for the following day’s slate of video games.
Here’s what occurred on Saturday in Qatar, in case you missed it:
Morocco 1, Portugal 0 in Doha: Match report || Match stats
England 1, France 2 in Al Khor: Match report || Match stats
Semifinals matchup: France vs. Morocco in Lusail (Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT)
MAIN TALKING POINTS
Morocco’s magical run in Qatar continues
Lifted up by their three African neighbours that got here earlier than them, the Atlas Lions of Morocco moved on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Portugal to turn out to be the primary nation from Africa to succeed in the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup. Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010) all put forth courageous efforts and pulled off upsets in admirably reaching the quarterfinals. But there’s something a lot completely different about this Moroccan facet that has knocked off European giants Belgium, Spain and Portugal at this World Cup.
“At some point in Africa, we have to be ambitious and think, why not win the World Cup, even if it’s going to be hard,” Morocco coach Walid Regragui mentioned within the aftermath of his nation’s conquer Spain earlier this week. Indeed, why not? Morocco is the in-form group at this World Cup, having gone unbeaten in 5 video games whereas conceding solely as soon as – and that was an own-goal in a 2-1 win over Canada within the group stage.
The Moroccans misplaced key defender Nayef Aguerd to damage earlier than Saturday’s match, and his centre-back accomplice and captain Romain Saiss early within the second half. But the Africans put forth one in all their greatest performances of this World Cup, thwarting the high-scoring Portuguese at each flip with decided defending and hitting out in opposition to them with fastidiously crafted counterattacks. Youssef En-Nesyri majestically leapt excessive within the air to move residence, a aim that stood up because the winner and struck a blow in opposition to the game’s established order.
As the primary Arab nation to make it this far on the World Cup, Morocco’s victory over Portugal needs to be celebrated and seen as an encouraging growth for the worldwide sport. It hasn’t been champagne soccer from Morocco, however respect have to be bestowed in regards to the Atlas Lions for his or her exceptional run in Qatar.
It’s not coming residence for England
It’s now 56 years and counting since England final gained the World Cup, a file that eclipses the Toronto Maple Leafs’ notorious streak of Stanley Cup futility by 12 months. The Three Lions cruised by means of the group stage and spherical of 16 in Qatar, going unbeaten in opposition to 4 lower-ranked nations. But when tasked with taking over France, the reigning World Cup champions, England got here up agonizingly quick regardless of outplaying Les Bleus throughout the second half.
The reminiscence of Harry Kane’s penalty try within the 84th minute that ballooned excessive over the crossbar will certainly depart a bitter style in English mouths for an additional 4 years, as it might’ve levelled the rating and compelled additional time. It can even depart the nation that bequeathed the game to the remainder of the world to ponder what precisely it has to do to win a second World Cup or a European Championship. A semifinal loss to Croatia 4 years in the past was adopted by a heartbreaking loss to Italy in final summer season’s Euro ultimate at London’s Wembley Stadium.
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Whenever England performs, there are three phrases which are unavoidable: “Football’s coming home.” You’ll see it on shirts, banners, flags and tattooed on the our bodies of English supporters who sing out from the terraces of stadiums. It began out as a tongue-in-cheek gag when English comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner launched a tune titled “Three Lions” to coincide with the nation internet hosting the 1996 European Championship. It was meant to seize the collective exhaustive expertise of English followers since their nation gained the World Cup 30 years beforehand.
But the tune has taken on a lifetime of its personal since then, adopted as a mantra by English supporters and media each two years when a significant event rolls round. Those three phrases – “football’s coming home” – proceed to hang-out England greater than half a century since its lone World Cup victory, because the inventors of the sport stay one in all its biggest underachievers.
GOAL OF THE DAY
In the seventeenth minute, a French counterattack that includes a wonderful sequence of passes ended when midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni took a contact after which unleashed a right-footed shot from 25 yards out that made its approach by means of visitors contained in the field and squeezed contained in the publish.
MOMENT OF THE DAY
American journalist Grant Wahl handed away after protecting Friday’s quarterfinal between Argentina and Netherlands. He was imagined to be on the France-England match.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I don’t remorse it. It wouldn’t change something. In phrases of the group, I can’t be pondering with my coronary heart. I used the group that performed rather well in opposition to Switzerland and there was no purpose to vary it (in opposition to Morocco).” – Portugal supervisor Fernando Santos on not beginning Cristiano Ronaldo for the second straight match.
SIX PACK OF STATS
• Morocco’s Yassine Bounou is the primary African goalkeeper to file three clear sheets in a single version of the boys’s World Cup.
• Youssef En-Nesyri has now scored extra targets (three) than every other Morocco participant in World Cup historical past.
• Cristiano Ronaldo has failed to attain in all eight of his knockout stage appearances on the World Cup (together with the third-place sport), going 570 minutes with out scoring and taking 27 photographs within the course of.
• Harry Kane has captained England 11 occasions on the World Cup, a file for the boys’s facet.
• Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris earned a file 143rd cap for the French males’s group on Saturday.
• The English males’s group has by no means gained a World Cup match wherein it has been shedding at halftime (two attracts and 7 losses), whereas France has gained 25 of its 26 World Cup matches when main at halftime.
Stats courtesy of Opta
THREE STARS OF THE DAY
1. Antoine Griezmann (France): The Atlético Madrid ahead arrange each of his group’s targets, along with his elegant supply into the field from the left wing for France’s winner rating as among the best crosses at this World Cup.
2. Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco): Registered a team-high three photographs and scored on an impressive header to ship his nation by means of to the semifinals for the primary time in six World Cup appearances.
3. El Yamiq (Morocco): He crammed in brilliantly for the injured Nayef Aguerd within the coronary heart of defence, anchoring a Moroccan again line that turned away the Portuguese at each flip.
LOOKING AHEAD TO TUESDAY
We’re right down to the ultimate 4 in Qatar, with Croatia taking over Argentina on Tuesday (2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT) at Lusail Iconic Stadium within the first semifinal match. The Croatians are on the cusp of back-to-back appearances within the World Cup ultimate after a dramatic penalty shootout win over Brazil within the quarterfinals, and are getting one of the best out of the world-class midfield trio of Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić and Marcelo Brozović. Argentina has been impressed by Lionel Messi and its core of thrilling younger attackers, most notably Enzo Fernández, to get inside a sport of returning to the World Cup ultimate for the primary time in eight years.
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John Molinaro is likely one of the main soccer journalists in Canada, having lined the sport for over 20 years for a number of media shops, together with Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, an internet site devoted to in-depth protection of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.
