Morocco vs Portugal FIFA World Cup 2022 Highlights: Ronaldo's dream ends as POR stunned by MAR 1-0

Ronaldo has stormed off the pitch, he seemed to breaking out into tears even before he reached the touchline. This is surely the last time we see him in the World Cup or, indeed, in a Portugal shirt. The Moroccans are dancing on the ground and some have their families with them as well. What a tournament this has been for them. That's it from here but do stay tuned for the second match of the day between England and France. Ciao!

Morocco become the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. Portugal are out. Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Pepe, Ruben Neves, Diogo Dalot; all knocked out. It is Morocco, the extraordinary Morocco who have still not let an opposition score against them in this World Cup, who reach the semi-finals. Ghana had come within inches of the semis spot back in 2010 but couldn't quite break the glass ceiling for African nations. Now, Morocco have broken it and how. The teams that have failed to beat them are as follows: 2018 runners-up Croatia (0-0), FIFA World No.2 Belgium (lose 2-0), new boys Canada (lose 2-1), 2010 champions and footbal royalty Spain (0-0, lose on penalties) and now 2016 European champions Portugal.

90+7 mins: Cross from the left, Pepe with almost a free header at the far post but he goes wide! How many times has he headed those in over the course of his long, long career. 

90+5 mins: The ball breaks out into the Portuguese half, Aboukhlal takes it, being chased by two Portuguese defenders. He has just the goalkeeper between him and goal but Costa does somehow keep Portugal in it. 

90+2 MINS: MOROCCO ARE DOWN TO 10 MEN! Cheddira had just been booked and he now gets a second yellow for a high foot. If Morocco pull this off, it is going to go down as one of the greatest defensive performances of all time in the history of the World Cup. 

90 mins: After a Moroccan attack, Portugal boot the ball forward along the ground and finds Ronaldo. Bono comes out in time to smother the Portuguese No.7's shot. 8 mins of added time. 

86 mins: Jawad El-Yamiq seems to have headed the ball of his own arm. Every single Portuguese soul down their appeals for hand ball but the ref is having none of it. Into the last four minutes of regulation time, Morocco still lead 1-0. 

84 mins: Free kick for Portugal almost straight in front of goal but about 30 yards out. Ronaldo was standing over but he actually walked away to let Fernandes take the shot. But Fernandes tries doing what Netherlands did in the last second of their match against Argentina yesterday and pass it along the ground beside the wall to a teammate inside the box. Morocco clear. 

82 mins: How about that for a shot. Felix latches on to a lay off from Ronaldo from outside the box on the right at the far post. Bono flies to make to palm it away. Extraordinary save, extroardinary shot. 

81 mins: Ziyech needed treatment and was hobbling along after that and so Morocco take him off alongwith fellow winger Sofiane Boufal. Zakaria Aboukhlal and Yahya Jabrane come on in their place 

73 mins: Morocco see the chance and break out, Portugal just about manage to see off the danger. The last thing they would want is to concede yet again. 

70 MINS: Free kick for Portugal near the byline just outside the box on the left. Fernandes stands over it with Ronaldo running around trying to lose defenders in the box. However, instead of looping it in, Fernandes sends it along the ground to Silva who seems to be caught out by the pace of the pass. He reaches out with his leg and the ball goes wide of the far post. Silva was in all kinds of space there and that would have been a goal had he managed to control it. 

Fernandes slices in the ball from the outside off his foot and Ronaldo looks to meet it with the header. It is, however, claimed safely by Bono. 

64 mins: Goalscorer En-Nesyri and Selim Amallah have been taken off for Badr Benoun and Walid Cheddira respectively. Benoun is a defender and so this is certainly a defensive change from Morocco. 

63 mins: Ball from the left reaches Fernandes just outside the box. He smashes in the shot that goes just over the bar. Morocco under all kinds of pressure now and their task has not been made any easier by the fact that Saiss is no longer there. 

57 mins: Captain Roman Saiss's injury has caught up with him. He is carried off on a stretcher, surely that is the last we have seen of him in this World Cup. Achraf Dari replaces him.

51 mins: Santos decides that he doesn't want to waste any time bringing on Ronaldo which does make sense in more ways than one. Joao Cancelo is also brought on with Ruben Neves and Raphael Guerreiro being taken off. 

49 mins: Ziyech with a free kick from the right and it is swinging low towards the Portuguese goalkeeper. Costa is completely unsighted by all the bodies jumping in front of him but somehow manages to keep it out. 

Morocco get things going. This is going to be a feisty affair. Meanwhile an update from the Ronaldo watch: CR7 is warming up. 

That was a mix of an excellent jump from En-Nesyri and some weak goalkeeping from Diogo Costa. Yahiya Attiyat Allah, who has been a real nuisance for the Portuguese defence, sent a cross into the Portuguese area. Costa caught in two minds for a second and so he is late to arrive while trying to fist the ball out. En-Nesyri beats him in the air and heads it into the now unguarded goal.

The Portuguese players surround the referee as soon as he blows the whistle. There was a shout for a penalty in the 1st minute of added time with Fernandes going down in the box. It has come to a boil towards the end of this half with

45 mins: Fernandes with an utterly audacious volley from the right at a tight angle outside the box. It actually beats Bono and hits the bar before bouncing safely for Morocco. 

42 mins: A terrible clearance from Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa that basically becomes a gift for En-Nesyri. He gladly accepts that by heading the ball in. 

38 mins: Boufal has a pop from distance after some good passing from the Moroccans and fizzes past the Portuguese goal. Portugal, at the moment, looking second best. 

36 mins: Boufal, passes inside from near the left corner flag to Attiat-Allah who turns it further into the box for Amallah. He attempts a shot at the near post that flies to the roof of the stadium.  

Ziyech curls it into the box, En-Nesyri meets it with his head and it goes just over the bar. 

20 mins: Hakimi passes out wide on the right to Ziyech and his cross is half-cleared. Ziyech gets the ball again in the same position and this time his cross is deflected by a Portuguese leg for a corner. A good period for Morocco here. 

18 mins: Morocco counter and Ziyech receives the ball on the right. He cuts inside and takes a shot to the near post from outside the box, it fizzes wide. 

13 mins: Free kick for Portugal on the left, Fernandes sends it into the mixer and it is header to Guerrero by Neves. Guerrero takes a low strike on the volley and it hits a Moroccan leg and goes out of the box. Morocco looking rather shaky during set piece routines. 

Portugal have had more of the ball and that means the Moroccan fans have whistled their lungs out for much of the game thus far. Joao Felix forced a save from Bono by getting his foot to a cross. 

Portugal set the ball rolling. They are in their away colours of white and maroon, Morocco in their traditional red and green. Portugal attacking from right to left. 

Right the players have walked and are standing shoulder to shoulder for the national anthems. The Moroccan anthem is absolutely thundered by the majority in the stadium. Then comes the Portuguese anthem. 

Portugal started off with a thrilling 3-2 win over Ghana and then a rather straightforward 2-0 win over Uruguay. Those two results pretty much confirmed their passage into the knockouts, so much that even a stunning 2-1 loss to South Korea could not knock them out. Then they gave Switzerland a 6-1 hiding in the round of 16 and here they now are, looking to unlock the Moroccan puzzle.

Morocco first beat Belgium and Croatia to the top spot in the group stage and then beat the mighty Spain to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in their World Cup history. As far as runs in the tournament go, this was probably beyond the wildest dreams over every Moroccan fan. Hundreds of them have flown into Doha for the match after Royal Air Maroc laid on seven extra flights, joining a large contingent already present in Qatar, where many Moroccans live and work. Fans were queuing for stadium access hours before the game.  

Fernando Santos was pretty assertive when stating that rumours of Ronaldo wanting to leave the World Cup after being told that he won't be starting against South Korea were false. "He has never told me that he wanted to leave the team. I think it's high time we stopped this conversation," Santos said. “An example of what I just said is what he did in the match. He started warming up with the players, he warmed up with colleagues and celebrated all goals scored. At the end he invited colleagues to thank fans. It's high time for you to leave Ronaldo alone for what he has done for Portuguese football.”

Santos has made just one change from the squad that routed South Korea - Ruben Neves comes in for William Carvalho in midfield. Yes, HE is on the bench but even he is not surprised by that anymore so you shouldn't either.

Morocco manager Walid Regragui makes two changes. Jawad Yamiq and Yahya Attiat-Allah are in for Nayef Aguerd and Noussair Mazraoui. Romain Saiss starts despite pulling up towards the end of their shock win over Spain.

Yassine Bounou, Achraf Hakimi, Romain Saiss, Sofyan Amrabat, Selim Amallah, Azzedine Ounahi, Hakim Ziyech, Soufiane Boufal, Youssef En-Nesyri, Jawad Yamiq, Yahya Attiat-Allah

Subs: Yahya Jabrane, Bilal El Khannouss, Zakaria Aboukhlal, Walid Cheddira, Ilias Chair, Abdelhamid Sabiri, Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti, Achraf Dari, Abderazak Hamdallah, Munir Mohamedi, Anas Zaroury, Abdessamad Ezzalzouli, Badr Benoun

Diogo Costa, Diogo Dalot, Pepe, Ruben Dias, Raphael Guerreiro, Bruno Fernandes, Otavio, Bernardo Silva, Joao Felix, Goncalo Ramos, Ruben Neves

Subs: Vitor Ferreira, Matheus, Joao Cancelo, Rui Patricio, Jose Sa, William Carvalho, Antonio Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Leao, Joao Palhinha, Ricardo Horta, Joao Mario, Andre Silva

Ronaldo is on the bench again but that may not be much of a surprise considering how Portugal played without him in the last match and what his replacement Goncalo Ramos did. The Benfica youngster scored a hat-trick in what was his first-ever major tournament for Portugal. Ronaldo seems to have made piece with the fact that his age may not allow him to be a starter in the national side, stating that he would be more than happy if the team wins the World Cup with him not scoring a single goal for them here on out.