Hard mission

Portugal suffered, but beat Morocco and bagged the first victory in the 2018 World Cup, racking up four points after two rounds in Group B. A goal from Cristiano Ronaldo (4’) made all the difference at the Luzhniki Stadium, in Moscow.

With two players Made in Benfica in the starting XI (Bernardo Silva and Gonçalo Guedes), Portugal entered the match against Morocco on the right foot a perfect. At 4’, Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with a header following a cross on the right side, after a short corner kick (1-0).

Still in the first half, after a short pass from Ronaldo, Guedes had a great chance to double the lead, but the goalkeeper Monir, with his left glove, denied the 2-0.

Seated on the substitute's bench, Rúben Dias, the centre-back from Benfica, saw the Morocco national team give up a fight and create several problems for the Portuguese national team, that relied on the good defensive organization to hold on to the lead. Morocco is already eliminated after a new defeat.

The three points were the brighter side of the second match from Portugal at the World Cup in Russia, in Group B: “We entered the match on the front foot, but then we lost the control, we a poor ball possession, we were forced to run more and we wore out. In certain moments, it seems we lost the confidence to have the ball possession. We will have to rectify that”, analyzed the national coach Fernando Santos.

One step away from qualifying to the Round of 16, the National Team rounds off this stage at 7:00 pm on Monday, June 25, against Iran, at the Mordovia Arena, in Saransk.

Text: João Sanches

Pics: FIFA