Darius1998 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 (edited) Preview Two countries with a fair amount of shared history go head-to-head in today's first quarter-final. Portugal come into this having thumped Switzerland 6-1, backed by a Goncalo Ramos treble after Cristiano Ronaldo was dropped for throwing a strop. He is expected to remain on the bench today as well. Morocco, on the other hand, knocked Spain out on penalties despite their neighbours winning a passing trophy for the fourth game in a row. They have lacked a cutting edge in most matches but Morocco have been solid defensively and have some of Africa's best players on show. With a win today, they can complete the re-reconquista become the first African country to reach a World Cup semi-final. Past quarter finals This is already Morocco's best ever performance at a World Cup finals, surpassing the round of 16 appearance from 1986. Portugal are in the quarters for just the third time in their history and have never lost at this stage in a previous appearance. They went on to finish 3rd in 1966 and 4th in 2006. Lineups Past meetings The two countries have met twice, both in the World Cup. Morocco ran out 3-1 winners in 1986 while Portugal won 1-0 in 2018 thanks to an early Cristiano Ronaldo goal. Edited December 10, 2022 by Darius1998 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 another game where the camera is fixed at the bench watching Ronaldo hopefully it's worth a watch though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigcwwe Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Big call got right by Santos. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigcwwe Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Morocco can become the first African side to reach the semi finals of the WC with a win here. 'mon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
georginho_juventusygr Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 COME ON, CRISTIANO! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFuller Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Part of me hopes Ramos gets a couple more goals today, so Santos can say, "We don't need you anymore, Cristiano. Go back to your massive yacht so we can concentrate on winning the World Cup." Yeah, I'm sick of the Ronaldo circus. I hope the camera operators focus on the pitch rather than the bench this time, because Portugal can (and do) play some fantastic football without him. Morocco have not yet conceded to an opposition player, but I think the wait for an African semi-finalist will continue. Portugal are just too talented and too smart to make the same mistakes Spain did. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ham_aka_stam Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 I only want to see the camera on Ronaldo if he's having a strop and when Portugal lose. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Of course Morrocco are the underdogs here by a huge margin. But one can hope Ziyeeeeech! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunmaN1905 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 (edited) Forget about Cristiano, Cancelo being outperformed by Dalot is the real story. Edited December 10, 2022 by GunmaN1905 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigcwwe Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 2 minutes ago, GunmaN1905 said: Forget about Cristiano, Cancelo being outperformed by Dalot is the real story. Dalot's turnaround and progress the last 6 months has been rather impressive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunmaN1905 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 1 minute ago, craigcwwe said: Dalot's turnaround and progress the last 6 months has been rather impressive. Much like Cancelo, he needed a season in Italy to learn how to defend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearcey_90 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Hope Morroco get first goal, at least then we’ve got a game on. Portugal go ahead, expect them to win by 2+. As they’ll exploit the gaps afterwards. Go behind, then struggle to break down I can see them getting frustrated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob1981 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Portugal are due a return to form. So not expecting much football to be played here. Scrappy midfield battle, no shots on target. Then when they still haven't broken Morocco down in the last half hour, Ronaldo will come on and start blasting free kicks at the first man and blaming his teammates for it. Calling 1-0 in extra time but I'm not sure which way. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallen Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 20 minutes ago, GunmaN1905 said: Much like Cancelo, he needed a season in Italy to learn how to defend. Cancelo must’ve missed his lessons Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigcwwe Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Four players walking a tightrope for Portugal should they make the SF. Surprised to see Mazrouai on the bench for Morocco. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 3 minutes ago, craigcwwe said: Four players walking a tightrope for Portugal should they make the SF. Surprised to see Mazrouai on the bench for Morocco. On the subs list, his name was even greyed out. Injured? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillHoward42 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 What’s with all the whistling from the fans? It sounds bloody awful Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFuller Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Just now, WillHoward42 said: What’s with all the whistling from the fans? It sounds bloody awful This is practically a home game for Morocco. Portuguese fans massively outnumbered. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Moores Mum Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 That's an opportunity. Should be doing better with the header. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillHoward42 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Who is it whistling though? And why? Always seems to happen when I see Spanish clubs in the CL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Moores Mum Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Is it not just Morocco fans whistling because Portugal have possession? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillHoward42 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Just now, ginnybob said: Is it not just Morocco fans whistling because Portugal have possession? Whatever it is, it sounds awful Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFuller Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 (edited) No need to watch the game. You can tell who's in possession just by listening to the crowd. Edited December 10, 2022 by CFuller 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillHoward42 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 (edited) Otavio looks like Ozil without the big eyes. E: actually the lovechild of Ozil and Coutinho Edited December 10, 2022 by WillHoward42 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew_ Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 What's the point of a defender taking a goal kick short? Why can't the keeper just do it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 1 minute ago, Andrew_ said: What's the point of a defender taking a goal kick short? Why can't the keeper just do it? Fulfilling some stat for the bet mafia 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigV Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Loving the tempo of this game, end to end stuff. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
georginho_juventusygr Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 May as well use Cristiano Ronaldo. Hoof the ball forward. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
georginho_juventusygr Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 DECO Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Imagine a Morroccan doing that to the Portuguese goalie. Pepe would bite his head off Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigV Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Felix aint in the mood for this, bruno has been gifting him 1v1's and he's been shocking. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew_ Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 I didn't know Bobby Zamora had a trophy named after him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius1998 Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 Close again from the Pierre Gasly-lookalike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 How is Ronaldo doing? Haven't seen him in the picture for more than half an hour now. Terrible camera work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillHoward42 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Didn’t catch the Brazil game yesterday. is this as boring as that one? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigV Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Just now, WillHoward42 said: Didn’t catch the Brazil game yesterday. is this as boring as that one? End to end with no quality in the final third. Can't finish for sh*t Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigcwwe Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 1 minute ago, WillHoward42 said: Didn’t catch the Brazil game yesterday. is this as boring as that one? No. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius1998 Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 Otavio. That wasn't in his face. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redshift Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Nice bira face clutching there. 8/10. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
georginho_juventusygr Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 That is an assault. Yellow card. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redshift Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 OMFG Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearcey_90 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 GET INNNNNNNNNN Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Nice nice nice Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFuller Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 NnnnnnnnnnnNesyri! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigcwwe Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Yes! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius1998 Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 What a leap! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Confused Clarity Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Fantastic! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunmaN1905 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Get in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grff Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Yes please! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnterUsernameHere Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Get the **** in! This hyped up keeper hasn't had a good tournament. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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