Quarter-Final - Morocco 1-0 Portugal - Saturday 10th December, 2022

[Machado]

Morocco have conceded one goal all tournament and it was an own goal.

They look frustratingly unbeatable.

[Beelzebub]

4 minutes ago, El Profesor said:

Lmao. The moroccan player really kissed Pepe's head after Pepe missed that header near the end.

 

 

Shows how the game was played in good spirit unlike last night.

[6666]

8 minutes ago, Machado said:

Bruno the one player who looked like he had any bollocks in there.

Felix should have come out after the game plan turned to long balls. Should have kept Ramos in there too.

So many overhit passes though.

[Dan+]

9 minutes ago, Beelzebub said:

The upsets have been great and like 2006 some big names will probably retire so it adds to the drama

Yeah the stakes were so high. Messi's last chance, Ronaldo's last chance, but some spanners really thrown into the works as well.

Lets see what you've got England.

[MUFC]

10 minutes ago, Machado said:

Bruno the one player who looked like he had any bollocks in there.

Felix should have come out after the game plan turned to long balls. Should have kept Ramos in there too.

 

[Reluctant Striker]

A surprising lack of composure from Portugal.

Morocco doing what they have been doing all tournament. Not sure Cameroon, Senegal, Ghana, Ivory Coast, etc, will be jumping for joy. I suspect it's an outsiders thing to somehow celebrate them as a continent.

Croatia, Argentina, Morocco & 1 other.

[Machado]

Just now, 6666 said:

So many overhit passes though.

He always misses plenty of them but it's refreshing to see a player refusing to pass it sideways or backwards. Takes the game by the scruff of the neck too. I can see why fans would love him.

[OrangeKhrush]

loving this world cup, it's been unpredictable

[El Profesor]

Portugal has so many good football coaches. With all the respect for Fernando Santos and what he achieved, Portugal can do a lot better.

[Fusion]

13 minutes ago, El Profesor said:

Portugal has so many good football coaches. With all the respect for Fernando Santos and what he achieved, Portugal can do a lot better.

I agree, Fernando Santos is good at managing bad/average teams, he knows how to build a formation for those kind of teams. But when a team has good players that can play decent football and are capable of bringing good results, he isn't the right man.

[Mel81x+]

14 minutes ago, El Profesor said:

Portugal has so many good football coaches. With all the respect for Fernando Santos and what he achieved, Portugal can do a lot better.

When you consider what some of their coaches have done for club football this is very true. I am not so sure it would translate to a national team coaching job though which is maybe why so many of them don't take it. But I could be wrong there.

[Mel81x+]

Congrats to the Moroccans, they took their chance well and honestly they could have scored another two from what I saw. Don't know what came over Portugal but it was very shabby in the first half and that isn't the kind of thing that's going to get you far in a tournament. 

[Machado]

4 minutes ago, Fusion said:

I agree, Fernando Santos is good at managing bad/average teams, he knows how to build a formation for those kind of teams. But when a team has good players that can play decent football and are capable of bringing good results, he isn't the right man.

This. I don't hate him but we need a different manager now to take us to the next level.

[RandoEFC+]

Morocco, what a great story. Weren't fancied by many as a surprise package beforehand either.

Ronaldo is such a tit. I was sick of it in the last round where we basically got Ronaldo cam every time Portugal scored despite the fact he wasn't even on the pitch, because he's such a petulant tool that they still have to keep a camera on him at all times in case he throws a tantrum or something. The storming down the tunnel on his own at full time, the tears, while his team mates were back out there consoling each other and congratulating the opponent. The camera filming him all the way down the tunnel, which he's well aware of. Me me me me me.

[Waylander]

A slight irony in the match, Ronaldo being angry at being dropped gets a reprieve from the bench and the best chance of the match late on and can't deliver, it was a tame effort.

I don't see him coming back from that at international level. 

[Tommy]

 

[Bluewolf]

[Spike]

I didn’t see the game but my wife’s review was essentially ‘Portugal looked tired, and Morocco were suspiciously energetic…’

[Devil-Dick Willie]

Bye bye rapist scum. As much as I hate the messi wankfest, tax dodging aint nothing compared to Ronaldo the fucking scumbag. 

[Rick]

Hopefully Morocco can perform a miracle and go on to win the whole thing. 

[ASF]

Embarrassing.

With all due respect to Morocco, but a country that has won the Euro just six years ago, with a lot of these players, shouldn't be getting out to them.

Having said this, that was a poor performance. 

The passing was too slow in the first-half. We saw what happened with Spain. If we stayed there just passing the ball, with no speed or creativity, our attacks would be easy for their defense to counter.

A team that wanted to win this World Cup can't concede goals like that. That was piss poor from Diogo and this is the second tournament in a row where errors from the keeper puts us out.

In the second-half we saw better combinations up front and we had enough chances to win this game, let alone take it to extra-time. Bounou was crucial. Their keeper was decisive. Ours wasn't.

Not going to criticize the ref. A team that concedes a goal like that has no right to complain about anyone but themselves.

[Carnivore Chris]

I feel sorry for Ronaldo, a sad end to a ridiculously long and consistently great career.

 

But Pepe can fuck off. Seeing him lift the world cup would devalue it.

[Carnivore Chris]

14 hours ago, ASF said:

Embarrassing.

With all due respect to Morocco, but a country that has won the Euro just six years ago, with a lot of these players, shouldn't be getting out to them.

Having said this, that was a poor performance. 

The passing was too slow in the first-half. We saw what happened with Spain. If we stayed there just passing the ball, with no speed or creativity, our attacks would be easy for their defense to counter.

A team that wanted to win this World Cup can't concede goals like that. That was piss poor from Diogo and this is the second tournament in a row where errors from the keeper puts us out.

In the second-half we saw better combinations up front and we had enough chances to win this game, let alone take it to extra-time. Bounou was crucial. Their keeper was decisive. Ours wasn't.

Not going to criticize the ref. A team that concedes a goal like that has no right to complain about anyone but themselves.

To be honest. I think you will win it at some stage, maybe in 4 years. Portugal will be the next new nation to win it, not including if Croatia or Morocco win it this time around.

@Machado says it could be too late for this group as Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva will be 32 then but 30 isn't as old as it once was and this will also not affect Ruben Dias, not negatively atleast.

Messi is 35 now and been among the tournaments stand outs, Griezmann is in his 30s now and has arguably been France's best player in this tournament, Modric is 37 now and impressed me against Brazil. The list goes on and these are older than the players mentioned above are. These type of players don't rely on speed/pace and maybe younger players like Rafael Leao, Vitinha and Joao Felix will improve their allround game by then and mature. Vitinha is one who I have seen alot of. He's also playing with some top players for his club to learn from. 

On top of this, there will obviously be more young players coming through during this time.

[Michael]

On 10/12/2022 at 17:20, Machado said:

Morocco have conceded one goal all tournament and it was an own goal.

They look frustratingly unbeatable.

Commiserations on the loss. Morocco are a very awkward side to play against. They defend in numbers, are extremely well organised and are very quick and dangerous on the counterattack. I do feel that the French though might have the keys to unlock Morocco's stubborn defence. For Portugal, the players looked less energetic in this match, compared to their previous game. Goncalo Ramos should have been kept on until the end in my opinion against Morocco. After his excellent performance against Switzerland, he was the man most likely to eventually find an equaliser against the Moroccans. 

For manager Fernando Santos, I think that it's the right time to replace him now. Santos did very well to guide Portugal to Euro 2016 success. But since then, Portugal disappointed at the 2018 World Cup and at Euro 2020. I think a change in manager would do them good, as they certainly have plenty of quality players. The new manager needs to get the best out of them.

[Devil-Dick Willie]

10 hours ago, Carnivore Chris said:

I feel sorry for Ronaldo, a sad end to a ridiculously long and consistently great career.

 

But Pepe can fuck off. Seeing him lift the world cup would devalue it.

He's a rapist. A confessed fucking rapist. Jesus Christ.