On Tuesday, Morocco became the fourth African team to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup, beating Spain 3-0 on penalties after 120 minutes without goals in the “eighth” 2022 World Cup.
The Moroccan formation, which will find a winner in the clash between Portugal and Switzerland in the “quarters”, “repeats” the achievements of Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010, all of which failed. socks’.
In 1990, Cameroon was a trailblazer, reaching “eighth” place by winning Group B, ahead of Romania, Argentina and the Soviet Union, and later beating Colombia 2–1 in extra time thanks to “encore” Roger Milla.
In the quarter-finals of the competition, held in Italy, the African team beat England 2-1, but eventually conceded two penalties to Gary Lineker, second after extra time, losing 3-2.
Ten years later in South Korea and Japan, it was Senegal’s turn to finish second in Group A behind Denmark and ahead of Uruguay and then defending champions France, whom they beat in the first leg 1–0.
In the 1/8 finals, the Senegalese beat the Swedes 2:1 thanks to the “golden goal” of Henri Camara, but in the “quarter” they also “failed” against Turkey (0 -1), who won with the “golden” goal of Ilhan Mansiz.
The third African team to reach the quarter was Ghana, which started second in Group D in 2010, behind Germany and ahead of Australia and Serbia.
The Ghanaians then beat the US 2–1 in extra time, with Asamoah Gyan deciding. However, there was a step from the “hero” to the “villain”, since in the “quarters” in the 120th minute, with the score 1:1, he did not convert a penalty.
The game went to a penalty shoot-out, then Gyan scored, but Uruguay took the lead (4-2).
In 2014 and 2018, no African team managed to reach the quarter, which changed on Tuesday when Morocco pushed Spain away on penalties in a tiebreak in which they scored three of four shots while the Spaniards conceded three. attempts. .
Earlier, in the group stage, Morocco had already proven itself by winning Group F, ahead of second-placed Croatia, also qualified, as well as third-placed Belgium in 2018, and Canada, who were on the way.
In the quarter-finals, against Portugal or Switzerland, Morocco will try to make history and become the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.