Morocco become first African team in history to make World Cup semi-finals

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Morocco's win over Portugal at Qatar 2022 means the Atlas Lions become first African team in history to make World Cup semi-finals

Morocco players celebrate their goal against Portugal at World Cup 2022.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Morocco have made history with their win over Portugal at Qatar 2022 on Saturday by becoming the first African team to qualify for a World Cup semi-final.

The Atlas Lions came through their group unbeaten and in top spot after wins over Belgium and Canada and a draw with Croatia, before knocking out Spain on penalties in the last 16.

That victory saw Morocco match the achievements of Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010) in making the last eight of a World Cup.

But no African team had managed the reach the semi-finals of a World Cup until now.

Morocco changed that and made history by edging out Portugal in the teams' quarter-final clash on Saturday.

Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri scored the game's only goal late in the first half and gave the Atlas Lions another famous win, which sees them take their place in the last four.

Walid Regragui's side will meet either England or France in the semi-finals.

Ben Hayward
Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.