Africa Football Discussion Thread || Current discussion: African teams at Qatar.

[CryptoBuds]

despite being a fan of morocco because i am african, i am also a fan of portugal and being neutral i must say that portugal has excellent players in their attack, something very different from morocco has been wasting clear opportunities but in this game they will be playing against portugal, which is a completely different team from spain, who preferred to play more in possession of the ball, portugal will attack morocco more than staying in possession of the ball, and morocco will have to be very careful every time they go on the attack to avoid If they lose the ball and suffer a counter-attack and they score a goal, I see Portugal winning this game, I very much doubt that there will be a favorable result for Morocco

Yes, I also do not see options for Morocco to win (of course, there is always a share of randomness and all teams have a chance). Portugal is not the kind of team that you can completely give the ball to, like Spain, and defend in your own half of the field. At the same time, playing open football with the Portuguese national team means getting a result similar to the one in the Portugal-Switzerland game. Quite a difficult choice for the head coach of the Morocco national team.

As Portugal played an attacking strategy against Switzerland, the Portugal team will play this strategy in today's match. Morocco's coach will definitely have to come up with an alternative match strategy. In all the previous matches, Morocco's strategy was to draw the match only by resisting the attacks. But even playing with this strategy today, probably Portugal's players will be able to break Morocco's defense. So I think today Morocco should focus on counter-attacking as well as resisting the Portuguese players' attacks. Portugal's players will also be under pressure if they attack the counter. And then the Portuguese player won't attack too much.

[DaNNy001]

I see so many who are proud of what Morocco has achieved, this is indeed not the first African team to reach the quarterfinals, several other teams have done this, but what makes me quite curious is whether anyone was brave enough to bet on Morocco yesterday? to be honest i didn't do that just bet on over 2.5 too bad it didn't work. Congratulations to Africa, which still has one team playing in this World Cup.

Yes I think everyone knows this because in the previous world cups the likes of Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana has achieved same success but what makes this one different is the fact that Morocco has done this in an impressive way. They got the highest point by an African team in the group stage, defeated the heavyweight teams that were in the group and ended up topping the group. They have done all this without losing a single game and now they're in the quarter finals. It also came to my knowledge of recent that the Arab nations are now coming Morocco with headlines like then been the first Arab nation to achieve this and only Arabic team left in the competition.

Once again when they win they're been called Arab but when they lose African, well I'm grateful the coach made it very clear of Morocco been an African nation and we'll be routing for them today. International I'm supporting Portugal and if Morocco can't go on to win the tournament then they should step them for Portugal who has a higher chance of winning since the likes of Brazil are out of the tournament.

No doubt Morocco has indeed done very well  in this world cup. I couldn't imagine the likes of Morocco topping their group with the likes of Belgium in their group. The world cup it self has been a  very surprising one with so many top teams loosing or going out in the group stages.

The rest African teams are out but the last team which is morocco are still holding on , they have surprise the footballing world that nothing is impossible and i think they still have some tricks up their sleeves today to suprise the world and Portugal that African nations are part of the competition for real this time around.

Well  i don't blame the arab nations claiming Morocco as one them well with fact that they look arabic and speak arab they can just claim their success as one of their nations . But the original facts still remain that they belong to the African terrain and under the African map so whatever they feel, they are still african and if they manage to win the world cup today it will go down in history that  an African nation has finally won the world cup

[Rruchi man]

No doubt Morocco has indeed done very well  in this world cup.

I hope they can do better, high hopes for them to take the African name to the Semi Finals after the last failed attempt from Ghana. Morocco have so far not lost any game in the , hopefully it continues today. Good thing for Morocco that they have already seen how this Portuguese side can play without Ronaldo, so they know what to expect. Every Portuguese player in front posses an attacking threat, the Moroccans will be conscious of that. It will take very good play for the Portuguese to go past the Moroccan defense that has been outstanding in this world cup.

 I want Morocco to win.

[Oluwa-btc]

No doubt Morocco has indeed done very well  in this world cup.

I hope they can do better, high hopes for them to take the African name to the Semi Finals after the last failed attempt from Ghana. Morocco have so far not lost any game in the , hopefully it continues today. Good thing for Morocco that they have already seen how this Portuguese side can play without Ronaldo, so they know what to expect. Every Portuguese player in front posses an attacking threat, the Moroccans will be conscious of that. It will take very good play for the Portuguese to go past the Moroccan defense that has been outstanding in this world cup.

 I want Morocco to win.

Born Nigerians turning Argentines Hehe.

Like i said before a win for Morroco is a win for all Africans no doubts, but I want to see Portugal winning and headed for the next round.
First thirty minutes has seen both sides opening themselves up. Portugal has gotten to open Morroco and the defense. They have been very compact holding the line very strong.
If Portugal is to win this game, they have to be ready, they might not have all the chances in the match, just as yesterday game they have to make sure they score and defend very.

Jaoa Felix has like two chances already and keeps missing these chances, which I know they might not get in the second half.
Truthfully, I hope Portugal goes through today.

[GiftedMAN]

No doubt Morocco has indeed done very well  in this world cup.

I hope they can do better, high hopes for them to take the African name to the Semi Finals after the last failed attempt from Ghana. Morocco have so far not lost any game in the , hopefully it continues today. Good thing for Morocco that they have already seen how this Portuguese side can play without Ronaldo, so they know what to expect. Every Portuguese player in front posses an attacking threat, the Moroccans will be conscious of that. It will take very good play for the Portuguese to go past the Moroccan defense that has been outstanding in this world cup.

 I want Morocco to win.

All eyes are on Morocco to prove to the world that African footballers are underrated and if they should win against Portugal and progress to the semi-finals of the competition. One good thing about the Moroccan team is their attacking force which has made the team better than most teams in the tournament with the absence of Ronaldo in Portugal's team, the advantages of Portugal will be limited because all the other players will be rated as equal.


Good news, Morocco leads.

[buwaytress]

Allez, Morocco! Man, if I knew my luck would be better just keeping my money on underdogs, I'd have done it all tournament long.

1 goal up, and they should honestly have had a second (well okay they should have let in a couple too haha) if only Sofiane wasn't selfish with their final attempt.

If the first half is anything to go by, they're showing that they're not just an absorption team waiting for penalties. What a game!

[Slow death]

Morocco 1 - 0 Portugal

I confess that I am very shocked by this result, I did not expect that Morocco would be beating Portugal, I know that it is only the first part of the game and that there is still another 45 minutes, but I believe that at this rate Morocco could beat Portugal , the coach of portugal made the mistake of putting the same 11 that played against switzerland, maybe he didn't think that morocco would study the game of portugal against switzerland and improve in defense, that will be a slap in the face of the coach of portugal that didn't put ronaldo because he didn't like ronaldo's behavior

[BALIK]

No doubt Morocco has indeed done very well  in this world cup.

I hope they can do better, high hopes for them to take the African name to the Semi Finals after the last failed attempt from Ghana. Morocco have so far not lost any game in the , hopefully it continues today. Good thing for Morocco that they have already seen how this Portuguese side can play without Ronaldo, so they know what to expect. Every Portuguese player in front posses an attacking threat, the Moroccans will be conscious of that. It will take very good play for the Portuguese to go past the Moroccan defense that has been outstanding in this world cup.

 I want Morocco to win.

I really want Morocco to win today. The way this team is performing without any star players is truly amazing. They are performing very well. Morocco is playing very well because of the good understanding between the team players. Portugal is not a weak team. Even so, it cannot be said that victory against them is impossible. Morocco will try to beat Portugal.

Morocco leads 1-0 at the end of the first half. Morocco is not playing defensively like in the previous matches. They attack a lot. Morocco made a total of 7 shots in the first half. And 5 were made by the players of Portugal. Hopefully, Morocco will win with a margin of 1-0.

[Docnaster]

Allez, Morocco! Man, if I knew my luck would be better just keeping my money on underdogs, I'd have done it all tournament long.

1 goal up, and they should honestly have had a second (well okay they should have let in a couple too haha) if only Sofiane wasn't selfish with their final attempt.

If the first half is anything to go by, they're showing that they're not just an absorption team waiting for penalties. What a game!

It is really showing that they are not really an absurd team waiting for the penalties. The Sofiane guy was selfish, it is a goal Ziyech would have completed successfully and the match would have ended. The Morocco team is more than what many of us think that they are. If you look carefully and see how they complete their passess and build attack from defence you will understand that they have quality players.

[Ondekinecakabilirim]

Morocco did a great miracle. Before the tournament, no one would have expected them to play in the quarterfinals. But they are now preparing to reach the semi-finals. They will be the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. They won my admiration with the football they played.

Portugal are playing football far from creating a danger that could change the score. The only person who can change this game may be Cristiano Ronaldo. He just entered the game. If he can change things, he will be back in the starting lineup. And he will keep his team in the World Cup. His performance will determine the fate of the match.

[Maestro75]

Morocco have come this far by playing great football, but they will face a tough test against Portugal. In the Spain match, they managed to keep the score and carried the match to penalties, but I think they will not be able to achieve this in the Portugal match because Spain had problems scoring goals and getting into the goal position, but the Portugal have more talented players in this regard.

You said Morocco managed to beat Spain but will face a strong team in Portugal in their next match for the semi final like you are making Morocco's victory look like it was luck. You have to give Morocco their respect. Morocco earned it. Do not underrate them. They can beat Portugal. I will not be surprised. And that is what is happening already. Morocco is a goal up against Portugal and the game is in 83rd minutes of play. It can end this way and Portugal will be out. Brazil was a favourite in the Qatar world cup but they have been knocked out at quarter finals by a less favoured Croatian team. No team is a minor any more.

[Rruchi man]

I really want Morocco to win today. The way this team is performing without any star playersis truly amazing.

Very deserving win for Morocco, they worked hard from start to finish and totally deserve a place in the semi finals, the first African team to win in the round of 16 and with a brilliant record of not loosing any game yet, and not conceding any goal except the one scored by their own player, an own goal.

 I like Ronaldo and it was emotional seeing him in tears knowing his chance of winning a world cup has just ended, but in the game with Morocco, it was either I support Ronaldo or support Africa, and it just had to be Morocco who have been on a very good performance, and so an African team can still remain in this World Cup to continue to represent us. 

[Docnaster]

I really want Morocco to win today. The way this team is performing without any star playersis truly amazing.

Very deserving win for Morocco, they worked hard from start to finish and totally deserve a place in the semi finals, the first African team to win in the round of 16 and with a brilliant record of not loosing any game yet, and not conceding any goal except the one scored by their own player, an own goal.

 I like Ronaldo and it was emotional seeing him in tears knowing his chance of winning a world cup has just ended, but in the game with Morocco, it was either I support Ronaldo or support Africa, and it just had to be Morocco who have been on a very good performance, and so an African team can still remain in this World Cup to continue to represent us. 

It was a choice between a country called Portugal and Morocco and also an individual called Ronaldo and a continent called Africa.
It was so emotional seeing Ronaldo cry, it wasn't pleasing to the sight but the better team won the day. Morocco has never been defeated in the world cup and I am not sure if the Keeper has conceaded a goal. That is the best coach in the Spanish league with a good defence combination.

[Ratash]

I really want Morocco to win today. The way this team is performing without any star playersis truly amazing.

Very deserving win for Morocco, they worked hard from start to finish and totally deserve a place in the semi finals, the first African team to win in the round of 16 and with a brilliant record of not loosing any game yet, and not conceding any goal except the one scored by their own player, an own goal.

 I like Ronaldo and it was emotional seeing him in tears knowing his chance of winning a world cup has just ended, but in the game with Morocco, it was either I support Ronaldo or support Africa, and it just had to be Morocco who have been on a very good performance, and so an African team can still remain in this World Cup to continue to represent us. 

It was deserved indeed they played really well from the first game in the tournament until now and not conceiding goals after playing with such big teams is really an amazing feat itself no team is able to crack that defense but the final will be really hard both england and france have a strong attack it will be the biggest challlenge so far.

[Minor Miner]

I really want Morocco to win today. The way this team is performing without any star playersis truly amazing.

Very deserving win for Morocco, they worked hard from start to finish and totally deserve a place in the semi finals, the first African team to win in the round of 16 and with a brilliant record of not loosing any game yet, and not conceding any goal except the one scored by their own player, an own goal.
 I like Ronaldo and it was emotional seeing him in tears knowing his chance of winning a world cup has just ended, but in the game with Morocco, it was either I support Ronaldo or support Africa, and it just had to be Morocco who have been on a very good performance, and so an African team can still remain in this World Cup to continue to represent us. 

Morocco became the first African team to qualify for the semi-finals. To be honest, no one expected the Moroccan team to qualify for the semi-finals. Qualifying for the knockout round was challenging for Morocco. But they made the impossible possible. They are unbeaten in 5 matches. But today's win against mighty Portugal was much more difficult. The Portugal team won 6-1 against Switzerland in the last match as well. But Portugal was defeated by Morocco's match strategy today. Mainly because of their defensive match strategy, Morocco is performing very well in every match and is able to win. At the same time they are very lucky.

[Maestro75]

Very deserving win for Morocco, they worked hard from start to finish and totally deserve a place in the semi finals, the first African team to win in the round of 16 and with a brilliant record of not loosing any game yet, and not conceding any goal except the one scored by their own player, an own goal.

This is by far the best world cup for Africa. Am feeling it and happy about it. Getting to the semi finals for Morocco is a huge achievement and it also means that Africa now has one extra slot in the next world cup. That means 10 which was given to Africa plus the extra one. Africa now has 11 slots for the next world cup.

I like Ronaldo and it was emotional seeing him in tears knowing his chance of winning a world cup has just ended,

I do not know why they cry whenever they loss as if the game is a must win. It is only a game and there will be winners and losers. Ronaldo should stop acting like a cry baby.

[Polkeins]

I really want Morocco to win today. The way this team is performing without any star playersis truly amazing.

Very deserving win for Morocco, they worked hard from start to finish and totally deserve a place in the semi finals, the first African team to win in the round of 16 and with a brilliant record of not loosing any game yet, and not conceding any goal except the one scored by their own player, an own goal.
 I like Ronaldo and it was emotional seeing him in tears knowing his chance of winning a world cup has just ended, but in the game with Morocco, it was either I support Ronaldo or support Africa, and it just had to be Morocco who have been on a very good performance, and so an African team can still remain in this World Cup to continue to represent us. 

Morocco became the first African team to qualify for the semi-finals. To be honest, no one expected the Moroccan team to qualify for the semi-finals. Qualifying for the knockout round was challenging for Morocco. But they made the impossible possible. They are unbeaten in 5 matches. But today's win against mighty Portugal was much more difficult. The Portugal team won 6-1 against Switzerland in the last match as well. But Portugal was defeated by Morocco's match strategy today. Mainly because of their defensive match strategy, Morocco is performing very well in every match and is able to win. At the same time they are very lucky.

It seems that in all 5 World Cup matches Morocco only conceded 1 goal (Penalties do not count)!  This is an incredible result for any national team.
In general, you can see how the level of teams is growing, including teams from Africa. In general, all teams played well and fought to the end, Cameroon beat Brazil, Tunisia France, Ghana South Korea, Senegal came out of the group, and Morocco has already reached the semifinals.
An impressive result and progress compared to 2010, when the World Cup was held in South Africa.
Well, the Morocco team can be congratulated on its historic victory!

[Asiska02]

It was deserved indeed they played really well from the first game in the tournament until now and not conceiding goals after playing with such big teams is really an amazing feat itself no team is able to crack that defense but the final will be really hard both england and france have a strong attack it will be the biggest challlenge so far.

Maybe, just maybe, if they get lucky again, they can beat either France or England in the semifinals. Nobody expected them to make it this far. This year's World Cup has been full of surprises, with countries that were not predicted to go far still winning. Morocco has just set a new African record, and I am very proud of them. Who knows, maybe this is the time for Africa to win the World Cup despite the many obstacles that stand in their way. Although it was not an easy triumph, congratulations to all Africans.

[Sirait]

Morocco became the first African team to qualify for the semi-finals. To be honest, no one expected the Moroccan team to qualify for the semi-finals. Qualifying for the knockout round was challenging for Morocco. But they made the impossible possible. They are unbeaten in 5 matches. But today's win against mighty Portugal was much more difficult. The Portugal team won 6-1 against Switzerland in the last match as well. But Portugal was defeated by Morocco's match strategy today. Mainly because of their defensive match strategy, Morocco is performing very well in every match and is able to win. At the same time they are very lucky.

To be honest, I also think so. Even in the African Continent Cup itself, Morocco is not the best team, there are still Senegal and Cameroon which are better, but I think their achievements in the World Cup this time are extraordinary. I think we'll see if Morocco will make new history in the world cup this time, their next opponent will be Croatia.

[snipie]

Morocco win 1-0 vs Portugal which was unexpected regarding how good Portugal it played vs Switzerland.
This time, Morocco made history for the African continent and Arabic people. What impressed me is how fierce they were with the ball. They weren't playing a simple match, they were playing a life or death game! My respect