Portugal dominated possession and got off to a good start when João Felix headed in on a great save by Bono. Morocco approached the last third of the field, and there was little chance of scoring the first goal.
Joao Felix tried his luck again about half an hour later, but the Moroccan was hit hard. By betting on the speed of the man in front, Morocco managed to achieve the only goal of the match through En Nesiri.
A cross into Portugal’s penalty area, a false start by Diogo Costa and the Sevilla striker got ahead of Ruben Dias and headed for the empty net.
Shortly thereafter, Bruno Fernandes came close to a draw with a crossbar shot from Morocco.
The second part brought complete dominance of Portugal, but also an absolutely insurmountable Moroccan wall.
Gonzalo Ramos, who again left Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench, headed in the 58th minute, while Bruno Fernandes in front of the Moroccan penalty area shot hard, but not on Bono’s goal.
With Ronaldo on the field, Portugal kept trying to send the ball into the Moroccan zone and in the 82nd minute João Félix came back close to a draw with an arcing shot. Bono answered in the afternoon, except for a corner.
Already in stoppage time, a deep pass gave Ronaldo the opportunity to level the score, but the shot was saved twice by Bono. Before the end of the match, Morocco was still almost out 2–0, with Portugal unable to get through on goal.
The final minutes were played with more heart than head and Portugal tried to score the goal they deserved but which Morocco managed to avoid at all costs to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup in an unprecedented fashion.
A bittersweet aftertaste at the end of a match, with tears in Cristiano Ronaldo’s eyes. Portugal are out of the 2022 World Cup with the feeling that they have the qualities to be in the group of the top four teams in the world.
