The Moroccan National Football Team on Tuesday made history in Qatar on December 6 after defeating Spain to advance to the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals.
They are the fourth African team after Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002, and Ghana in 2010 to advance to this stage of the competition.
They will, on December 10th, face Portugal, who qualified by defeating Switzerland.
The game was tense and goalless until the final seconds of extra time, after which Morocco scored three out of four penalties and kept a clean sheet. Paris Saint Germain’s 24-year-old player Achraf Hakimi converted the game-winning penalty kick. The Man of the Match award went to Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bono, who had an outstanding game and saved two of Spain’s three penalties in the shootout.
Remember that the first time the Atlas Lions ever advanced to the Round of 16 was in 1986 in Mexico, where they defeated Portugal 3-1 before losing to Germany 1-0. This is truly monumental for the country, the Arab world, and Africa.
