All the 8 teams of quarter finals had been revealed, after the round of 16 of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 completed on Tuesday.
In the seventh match of the Last 16, Morocco continued their journey as a dark horse by eliminating Spain after a penalty shootout with the result 3-0.
The African team who defeated Belgium and drew against Croatia to finish as first place in the group stage, once again surprising all the football fans.
The Atlas Lions and the Spanish were both goalless in the 120 minutes. During the penalty shootout, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou became the nation’s hero by saving two shots from their opponent players.
The Matadors who won the title in 2010, were unable to score a goal in the entire game, although they dominated with a 77% ball possession and a total of 1019 passes.
Luis Enrique’s squad, which featured young players in this tournament, once showed their strength in the 7-0 victory against Costa Rica, but still lacked the stability to score in every match.
Team Morocco who first time qualified into the World Cup quarter finals, will face Portugal on 10th December.
Portugal Crush Switzerland
Portugal grabbed the last ticket into the quarter finals, by crushing Switzerland 6-1 in the eighth match of the Last 16.
The Portuguese head coach Fernando Santos surprisingly listed the legendary superstar Cristiano Ronaldo as substitute before the match.
However, CR7’s replacement Goncalo Ramos amazed the team supporters by scoring three goals, also the first hat trick in this Qatar event.
The 21 years old teenager became the first player to perform a hat trick in his World Cup debut, since the 2002’s competition by German legend Miroslav Klose.
He is also the youngest player to score three goals in the World Cup qualification stages, since the great Brazilian Pele in 1958.
The Last 8: Who will Enter Semi Final?
As the round of 16 has completed, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will rest for two days, to let the eight teams prepare for more tough battles.
On 9th Dec, Croatia will play against Brazil, and Netherlands will meet Argentina. On the next day, Morocco will face Portugal, while the clash of France and England will be the most focused match.
The five stars Samba who are the top favourite of champion, expected to take down the 2018’s runner up to pursue their sixth world championship.
Meanwhile, the Argentinian led by Lionel Messi are looking forward to advancing into the semi final since 2014, by beating the Dutch who are three times finalist.
Morocco sought another surprise in the battle against the Portuguese, to become the first African team into the Last 4.
In the last show of the quarter finals, the Three Lions will challenge the defending champion, to decide the last seat of the semi finals.
Team England who won the trophy in 1966, might have huge difficulty to stop Les Bleus from winning their third World Cup title, especially the French striker Kylian Mbappe who had scored five goals in this tournament.