Morocco has been one of the standout teams in this World Cup. They qualified from a group containing Croatia, Belgium and Canada and even finished at the top of the group and remained unbeaten. They defeated Spain in the Round of 16 and set up a mouth-watering clash with Portugal in the quarter-finals.
The Atlas Lions did the impossible as they beat Portugal by 1-0 courtesy of Youssef En-Nesyri’s headed goal in the quarter-finals. They shut the doors for Portugal even when they were reduced to 10 men in injury time. They ended Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup dream as one of the greatest players of all time heads home from the tournament.
Youssef En-Nesyri breaks Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for the highest jump while scoring a headed goal during Morocco’s win over Portugal in the World Cup 2022 quarter-final
Youssef En-Nesyri scored the only goal of the game, nodding in a header after a cross from the left flank. Diogo Costa was responsible for the error that led to the goal, as it was supposed to be an easy claim for him. Even though he came out to gather it, he missed it completely and the striker headed it in from close range.
The Sevilla striker scored the most important goal in Morocco’s history and in the meantime, he has also broken Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for the highest jump while scoring a headed goal. The Moroccan headed from a height of 2.78 metres, surpassing Ronaldo’s header against Sampdoria during his time at Juventus, which was 2.63 metres.
Youssef En-Nesyri said after the match, via Marca: “We are all happy, with a lot of joy for the victory. I thank my teammates and the fans. After not being able to in 2018, I told my teammates that we were going to beat Spain and Portugal.”
Morocco has been one of the best defensive sides in this tournament, playing some great counter-attacking football with the likes of Ziyech, Boufal, En-Nesyri and Hakimi in their ranks. Morocco will now face France in their first-ever semi-finals in World Cup history.
