Morocco Player Ratings: En-Nesyri & Bounou heroics hand Atlas Lions moment of history - World Cup Update
Morocco Player Ratings: En-Nesyri & Bounou heroics hand Atlas Lions moment of history - World Cup Update
Striker Youssef En-Nesyri scored the lone goal that sent Morocco to the World Cup semi-finals, making them the first African nation to ever reach the last four.
The Sevilla striker was impressive on Saturday, showing great centre-froward play but the Atlas Lions would not have kept another clean sheet were it not for another top performance from goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
There were other impressive displays from a number of Morocco players, given the North Africans withstood pressure to get the historic victory.
Yassine Bounou 10/10
While Youssef En-Nesyri earned the plaudits for scoring the winner, Bounou ensured Morocco kept a fourth clean sheet in five matches, pulling off a number of great saves.
The Sevilla goalkeeper was a busy man and was called into action as soon as the fourth minute when he saved from a Joao Felix header before denying Bruno Fernandes from close range in the second half.
He saved the best for last, however, coming up trumps when he pulled off the best save of the game following a powerful shot from Felix in the 82nd minute and then denied Cristiano Ronaldo deep into added time. Simply flawless.
BackpagePixAchraf Hakimi 8/10
Another top performer, Hakimi offered so much defensively while resisting the temptation to make many runs forward.
He made three clearances while putting in two tackles as Portugal put Morocco on the back foot.
With Morocco defending most of the time, Hakimi's attacking talents were not utilised as he did not have the space and time to roam forward and deliver crosses with coach Walid Regragui keen to see his fullbacks stay put.
Yahya Attiat-Allah 9/10
With Noussair Mazraoui injured, Attiat-Allah slotted in at left-back and ensured the Bayern Munich defender was not missed.
While Hakimi opted against going forward, Attiat-Allah had no qualms getting into advanced positions and nearly contributed the opening goal when his fifth-minute cross was headed just wide by En-Nesyri.
He, however, delivered the cross that yielded the goal when he lofted the ball over for En-Nesyri to head home on the stroke of half-time. The Wydad Casablanca could have made it 2-0 shortly after, when he fired just wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.
GettyRomain Saiss 8/10
The Morocco captain managed to play 55 minutes with an injury and did not look like he was in pain until the time when he could not continue anymore.
He was replaced by Achraf Dari but he had put in an impressive performance by then, winning two out of as many aerial duels while making one clearance.
He opted to stay put in his position to avoid being dragged out wide, and perhaps stretch his troublesome hamstring, until he could not do it any more when he went down and was stretched off.
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