Morocco-Portugal : Much-awaited Rendezvous

The last time an African country was in the quarterfinals of the World cup was in 2010 when Ghana was few minutes to making history by being the first African side to reach the semi-finals. But no, the dream was not a reality. On Saturday December 10, 2022 at the Al Thumama Stadium, 4 p.m. the Atlas Lions of Morocco are on a similar mission as they log horns against Portugal in the quarterfinals of the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The objective will be to succeed where their African peers have failed by picking a spot in the semi-finals. An objective which is not far-fetched looking at that the performance of the Atlas Lions so far in the competition. 
Morocco won Group F with seven points as they battled tough opponents such as Croatia, Belgium and Canada. Their shock 3-0 victory on penalties over one of the tournament’s favourites, Spain during a compact round of 16 clash tells of the efficiency of the Hakimi-led side. Morocco are yet to concede a goal from an opposition player (their only goal against coming from one of their own players). Incredibly, they did not even concede during the penalty shootout as Morocco earned a 3-0 win. This does not only depict the watertight nature of the Moroccan defence but the extra-ordinary qualities of goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou. Coach Walid Regragui equally gets a tap on the back for being a master planner; putting in place the right tactics so far.
Just as the Moroccans are hungry for the s...