RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE Mandatory Credit: Photo by Jose Breton/NurPhoto/Shutterstock (13652197x) Morocco players celebrate victory after the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Round of 16 match between Morocco and Spain at Education City Stadium on December 6, 2022 in Al Rayyan, Qatar. Morocco v Spain: Round of 16 – FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Al Rayyan – 06 Dec 2022

World Cup Tuesday Recap: Morocco stuns Spain on penalty kicks to reach first-ever quarterfinals, while Portugal dominates with Cristiano Ronaldo on bench

Clovis Shropshire
December 6, 2022
0
11 minutes read

Recapping the Tuesday action:

MOROCCO 0, SPAIN 0 (Morocco advances 3-0 on PKs)

What: World Cup, Round of 16
When: Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022 @ 10 a.m. CT
Where: Education City Stadium (Doha, Qatar)
FIFA World Ranking: Spain (No. 7), Morocco (No. 22)

Morocco made history on Tuesday by advancing to their first-ever World Cup quarterfinals after a stunning penalty kick victory over No. 7-ranked Spain at Education City Stadium in Doha, Qatar. The Moroccans continued their unrivaled streak of now four straight matches without allowing an opposing player to score a goal. The only goal tallied against the Moroccans in this World Cup was an own goal in their matchup with Canada in group play. They held their Spanish opponents scoreless for more than 120 minutes in this match as well as blanking La Furia Roja in the penalty kick round to win 3-0 on PKs. Spain’s first attempt clanked off the right post for the first miss of the penalty round. Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou of Sevilla then blocked both the second and third Spanish penalty attempts to clinch the victory for the Lions of Atlas.

The Canadian-born 31-year-old Bounou had just one save on the day as the Moroccan defense continued its stifling ways. Spain possessed the ball for a whopping 77% of the match during both the regulation and extra time periods, but it only managed one attempt on goal despite 13 overall shots and nine shots from inside the box. Spain had nine corner kicks to zero for Morocco as well, but in the end, the box score domination was all for naught. Spain finished the day with a 91% successful pass rate, compared to 71% for Morocco, according to fotmob.com.

Morocco made three of its four penalty kick attempts to win and advance despite it being their first-ever World Cup penalty shootout. Abdelhamid Sabiri and Hakim Ziyech showed confidence and composure by effortlessly netting their nation’s first two penalty attempts.

The final, game-winning penalty kick conversion came via the 24-year-old defender Achraf Hakimi of PSG, who was ironically born in Madrid, Spain. It was the fourth time that 2010 champion Spain has been knocked out of the World Cup on penalties and the second in a row.

Morocco will continue its improbable 2022 World Cup with a match against No. 9-ranked Portugal, who obliterated Switzerland 6-1 in the Round of 16. The two sides will face off in the third quarterfinal match at 9 a.m. CT on Friday at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar.

Morocco and Portugal last played each other in the 2018 World Cup group stage, when a Cristiano Ronaldo goal in the fourth minute of the game led to a 1-0 victory for Portugal. The only other meeting between the two nations came at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, which ended in a 3-1 win for Morocco en route to their first-ever appearance in the knockout stage.

PORTUGAL 6, SWITZERLAND 1

What: World Cup, Round of 16
When: Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022 @ 1 p.m. CT
Where: Lusail Iconic Stadium (Lusail, Qatar)
FIFA World Ranking: Portugal (No. 9), Switzerland (No. 15)

A hat trick from Goncalo Ramos led to Portugal routing Switzerland 6-1 to earn their third-ever World Cup quarterfinals berth at Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail, Qatar. Ramos was called upon to replace Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting lineup on Tuesday, a move that many had not expected from Portuguese manager Fernando Santos heading into knockout stage play.

The 21-year-old Ramos, who was making his first-ever international start for the Selecção das Quinas, scored his first goal in the 17th minute to make it 1-0 and added scores in the 51st and 67th minutes before being subbed off in the 74th minute with his team ahead 5-1.

Ramos’ hat trick was the first of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and it also made him the youngest player to record a hat trick in a World Cup knockout stage match since Pelé in 1958.

Tuesday’s win marked Portugal’s first Round of 16 win since a 0-0 penalty kick victory over England in the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup. Portugal earns its third-ever trip into the final eight after a fourth-place finish in 2006 and a third-place finish in 1996, its first-ever World Cup.

Portuguese legend Pepe also made history in Tuesday’s Round of 16 match in Lusail, Qatar, as he became the oldest-ever World Cup scorer in the knockout stage at 39 years of age with a thunderous header off a corner kick in the 33rd minute of action. Pepe’s historic score made it 2-0, and even though Switzerland remained in contention for a comeback in the early stages of the second half, things escalated out of hand quickly. Ramos’ second goal in the 51st minute was followed by Raphaël Guerreiro’s goal in the 55th to make it 4-0 and seal the victory.

Switzerland scored its lone consolation goal shortly thereafter in the 58th minute on a strike from Manuel Akanji. It was too little too late for the No. 15-ranked Swiss, who have now lost four straight Round of 16 matches despite an impressive five straight World Cup trips.

The Swiss actually led the match in time of possession (52% to 48%) and tied Portugal with six corner kicks in the game, but Portugal was the hyper-efficient side in its attacks and wound up leading the match in total shots (15 to 10) and shots on goal (nine to three). Ronaldo saw the pitch despite not starting the match, subbing in for João Félix in the 73rd minute. He appeared to have scored a goal soon after but was eventually ruled offsides.

Rafael Leão added the sixth and final score for Portugal in the second minute of stoppage time to put the finishing touches on an offensive masterpiece. Félix led the winning side with two assists on the day, while Portugal also had one assist each from the likes of Ramos, Guerrero, Bruno Fernandes, and Diogo Dalot. Portugal will now face No. 22-ranked Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinals at 9 a.m. CT on Friday at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar. Portugal defeated Morocco 1-0 during group play of the 2018 World Cup in the nations’ last meeting.