The Director General of World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the former Nigerian Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has congratulated Morocco for winning its quarterfinal match to become the firstever African and first Arab team to qualify for FIFA World Cup Semi Final in Qatar.
Okonjo-Iweala took to her social media platform on Saturday to celebrate this team after beating Portugal to qualify for semi final, she said, “Congratulations to Morocco first African and first Arab team in World Cup semis! An amazing feat! No matter what history has been and is being made. Go Morocco. Best of luck”.
Meanwhile, The Atlas Lions of Morocco, against all odds have set new record as the first African country to qualify for semi-final of the FIFA World Cup. North African country achieved this feat after their hard earned victory over Portugal in the ongoing World Cup in Qatar, in a quarter final match.
The North African side had stunned Belgium and Spain earlier in the tournament as Morocco continued its shocking run to the 2022 FIFA World Cup semifinals after defeating Portugal in the quarterfinals by 1-0 at the Al Thumama stadium.
Moroccan striker En-Nesyri scored in the first half of the game, profiting from Portugal goalkeeper, Diogo Costa’s mistake. The first-half strike was enough to seal the win for not just Morocco but the entire African continent, as the country became the only African side to reach the World Cup semifinals.
Morocco, ranked 22nd in the world, has been in scintillating form in the FIFA World Cup 2022. They were perceived as underdogs in most of their fixtures but always found a way to win the game against their opponents and they became the first African team to top a FIFA World Cup group since Nigeria in 1998.
They have now defeated World Cup favourites like Belgium, Portugal and also Spain in the Round of 16 of the competition and are yet to concede a goal from an opposition player.
Their win guarantees Africa 11 slots in the 2026 World Cup. 9 permanent slots (because of the number of participating countries that has increased to 48), one via playoff and the last one because they reached the semifinal.
Their win against Portugal guaranteed them a semifinal spot which will be against France, who defeated England 2-1 in the other quarter final match played later on Saturday. The semifinal will be played on Wednesday, 14th of December by 8 pm WAT, while Argentina faces Croatia earlier on Tuesday.
Portugal was favoured to defeat Morocco in the quarterfinal match with a FIFA ranking 9 vs. 22, but the Moroccan squad known as “Atlas Lions” delivered a historic victory of 1-0. Youssef En-Nesyri scored the winning goal.