Before today’s quarter-finals between Morocco and Portugal (4 p.m., Servus TV), millions of people are rooting for the underdog – coach Walid Regragui’s selection is set to be the first African team to reach the semi-finals.
A former World Cup hero has even more confidence in Morocco: “They can make it to the final,” said Abderrazak Khairi. The 60-year-old scored twice in the 3-1 win against Portugal in the group stage game in Mexico 1986. Morocco lost 1-0 to Germany in the round of 16. Regragui recalls: “I was a kid then. The players from 1986 were our heroes, we all wanted to be like them. Maybe now we’ll let the kids dream of Morocco.”
Will the outsider make it to the semifinals? “It’s about time that happened,” said Sampdoria Genoa professional Abdelhamid Sabiri. He is one of 14 squad players who were not born in Morocco. “That doesn’t change anything. Your culture is what your parents teach you. Mine is Morocco, that’s why I’m here.”
End the Ronaldo polemic
Portugal’s opponents Morocco was not the topic yesterday, but Cristiano Ronaldo. The captain reacted with disappointment and astonishment to his reserve role in the round of 16 against Switzerland (6: 1), said team manager Fernando Santos. “He asked me, ‘Do you really think that’s a good idea?'”
Santos denied that the 37-year-old had threatened to leave. “It is high time that we ended this polemic.” The 68-year-old, however, praised the behavior of the current substitute. The team boss demanded that Ronaldo be left alone and acknowledge what he had “done for Portugal’s football”: “He’s the captain of our team, he gave so much to Portuguese football, to the people, to the national team.”
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I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
