Portugal 1-0 Morocco
Yes! It’s him! He did it again!
The man every La Liga fan outside of Madrid loves to hate did his thing against another strong team in world football’s biggest stage. His scoring prowess once again reminded the world why he should be considered as the best football to ever walk the Earth.
It’s not a stretch to say that Portugal’s FIFA 2018 campaign is all about Cristiano Ronaldo and how he will perform against the best football teams in the entire world. He didn’t let Portugal down as his awesome attacking ability brought A Selecao their first win in the group stage, edging them closer to qualification in the knockout rounds and the coveted World Cup trophy.
Morocco tried everything they can to stop CR7 from scoring up front, but Portugal’s living legend will continue to shine as his heroics will definitely be featured in a lot of FIFA 2018 highlights!
Highlights of the game
Morocco manager Herve Renard is still reeling from the painful defeat they endured against Iran during their first World Cup game. While he understands that Ronaldo will be a giant threat to score, their need score goals is much greater.
He decided to field an attack-heavy 4-2-3-1 at the expense of leaving the wings vulnerable to attack. He counted on Moubarak Boussoufra and Karim El Ahmadi to help the defensive line with keeping the Portuguese at bay.
Meanwhile, Fernando Santos opted for a traditional and structurally sound 4-4-2 with Ronaldo playing as the left striker. While the rest of the Portuguese 11 would still be playing around the Real Madrid superstar, it would still be up to the rest of the squad to get the ball to Ronaldo’s feet for the goal.
The game was seemingly decided when the game was not even 10 minutes old. Portugal got an early corner at four minutes, and it was prime time for them to put the chasing Lions of the Atlas on the back foot.
Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva gave a short corner pass to Joao Moutinho, who immediately fired a cross into the box. Ronaldo positioned himself brilliantly and lost former Portuguese representative Manuel Da Costa. The ball headed straight to Ronaldo’s head, and he powered the football to the Moroccan net.
The brilliant display of attacking skill from Ronaldo definitely elated many a Portuguese fan inside the Luzhniki Stadium dancing for joy. The goal has instantly set the mood for the rest of the match as Morocco struggled to find opportunities against a Portugal side that knows how to defend well.
Nordin Amrabat, Boussoufra and Da Costa tried to even the score For Morocco in the first half to no avail. Amrabat was involved in a tough tussle that some would have considered to be worthy of a penalty, but Mark Geiger didn’t blow his whistle to the chagrin of the Moroccans.
The second half saw more of the same thing that the crowd saw in the first half. The Lions of the Atlas kept on forcing the attacks to try and keep themselves in the race for the knockout stages, the Portuguese defence just denying them, and Cristiano Ronaldo impressing everyone for 45 more minutes with his every stride and strike.
Before the match, Pepe claimed that A Selecao and Portuguese football fans are blessed to have Cristiano Ronaldo donning the Portuguese shirt. His performance so far in these group stage games prove just how important of a piece he is to Portugal’s attempt at World Cup glory.
Key statistics
Ronaldo is currently leading all players for the Golden Boot race with his four goals scored. Russia’s Denis Cheryshev and Artem Dzyuba are just behind him with three and two goals, respectively. With the way Cristiano has been playing as of late, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him easily beat James Rodriguez’ scoring record.
This victory also gets Portugal on even ground with Morocco on their head-to-head. The last time they squared off was in 1986, where Portugal was soundly beaten 3-1. Abdelrazze Khairi’s brace helped Morocco soundly beat the Iberians.
This game has also doomed Morocco to join Egypt as the first casualties of the World Cup. Even if they were to win their final group stage game, it’s too little too late for these lads. All they can do now is take a bow and try their hardest to send their fans home with a smile for their final World Cup game.
What’s next?
Morocco will end their World Cup run with Spain. La Roja are definitely frustrated with the way their exciting 3-3 draw with their Iberian neighbours ended, so they will take all the points they could against Iran and Morocco. Renard’s men might be in for another 90 minutes of beating from another Iberian giant.
The FIFA 2018 betting odds continue to get better for Portugal as they are set to face Iran. While Iran won their match against Morocco, there is an obvious gap in quality between the two sides. I, alongside the football experts at SBOBET, will be honestly surprised if they even manage to hold a candle to the man that is Cristiano Ronaldo.
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