This will be the third ever meeting between Morocco and Portugal, with the previous two both coming at the World Cup. Morocco won the first in a group-stage clash in 1986 (3-1) before Portugal won 1-0 in the 2018 tournament where they also shared a group.
There have been 11 previous games in the knockout stages of the World Cup between African and European teams, with nine of those being won by the European side. The two exceptions are Senegal’s 2-1 extra-time victory over Sweden in 2002 (round of 16) and Morocco’s penalty shootout victory over Spain in the previous round this year.
Morocco are looking to become the first African team to qualify for the semifinal of a World Cup tournament. Indeed, each of the previous three African sides to reach a quarterfinal were all eliminated at this stage: Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010.
This will be Portugal’s third quarterfinal at the World Cup, while they’ve progressed in each of the previous two – 5-3 v DPR Korea in 1966 and 3-1 in a penalty shootout v England in 2006. Portugal scored as many goals in their last game v Switzerland (6) as they had in their previous eight matches in the World Cup knockout stages combined.
Morocco come into this match on a five-game unbeaten run at the World Cup (W2 D3); their longest-ever streak without defeat in the competition. Four of these games have come under Walid Regragui (W2 D2), who will become the first African manager to take charge of a World Cup quarterfinal in this match.
Portugal have scored 12 goals in four games at the 2022 World Cup, only netting more in a single tournament back in 1966 (17). Their 12 goals have been netted by eight different players, which is the most different goalscorers they have ever had in a World Cup tournament.
Morocco have kept three clean sheets in four games at the 2022 World Cup; the most ever by an African side in a single edition of the tournament. Overall, Nigeria (7) are the only African team who have kept more clean sheets than Morocco (6) in World Cup history.
Bruno Fernandes has been directly involved in more goals (5) than any other Portugal player at the 2022 World Cup. In addition to his two goals scored, Fernandes’ three assists are the joint-most of any Portuguese player in a single World Cup tournament, along with António Simões and José Torres from 1966 and LuÃs Figo from 2006.
Hakim Ziyech has either scored (1) or assisted (1) half of Morocco’s goals at the 2022 World Cup (2/4). Indeed, he has been directly involved in a third of all Morocco shots in the current tournament (10/30), leading the team in both shots (6) and chances created (4).
Against Switzerland last time out, Portugal’s Gonçalo Ramos became the first player to score a hat-trick on his first World Cup start since Miroslav Klose in 2002. Ramos has scored three goals in 74 minutes played in the knockout stages of the World Cup, while Cristiano Ronaldo is still looking for his first goal in the knockout stages of the competition (531 minutes played).
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