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Qatar 2022: Morocco beat Portugal to become first African side at semi-final

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Morocco became the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final and ended the hopes of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.

Striker Youssef En-Nesyri scored the winning goal in the first half, leaping highest to beat goalkeeper Diogo Costa to the ball and heading in to spark pandemonium at Al Thumama Stadium.

The north African side’s supporters populated most of the venue and joyously celebrated their breakthrough moment on the global stage.

Ronaldo came off the bench in the 50th minute to equal the men’s all-time appearance record of 196 in international matches, but he could not drag his side back into the contest.

Morocco, who will face England or France in the last four, were happy to play on the counter and grabbed the opener just before the break when En-Nesyri headed in from Yahya Attiyat-Allah’s cross.

Portugal skipper Bruno Fernandes came agonisingly close to levelling just minutes later but a brilliant individual effort struck the crossbar.

Decimated by injuries, Morocco sat back for the majority of the second half and Yassine Bounou brilliantly tipped over Joao Felix’s drive – the closest they came to an equalizer.

Morocco striker Walid Cheddira was sent off for a second yellow card in eight minutes of additional time but Portugal could not find the equaliser as their last-four hopes were dashed.

Magnificent Moroccans make history

Three African sides had previously reached this stage of the World Cup but none had progressed any further. Until now.

The marvellous Moroccan players and fans rejoiced as En-Nesyri’s header on 42 minutes proved to be the pivotal moment.

Fans whistled and jeered every pass the Portuguese players made and then the rowdiest section behind the goal seemed to suck the ball into the net.

Walid Regragui’s side were missing West Ham’s Nayef Aguerd, Bayern Munich’s Noussair Mazraoui and lost captain Romain Saiss to injury early in the second period.

But they defended resolutely and frustrated Portugal to keep their seventh clean sheet in eight games under their boss and have conceded just once in this tournament.

Morocco are a tough proposition and buoyed on by a partisan crowd in Doha, they will present a difficult challenge to whoever they face in the last four on Wednesday.

Goalkeeper Bounou, earning his 50th cap, pushed away a header from Felix early on and a deflected strike flew narrowly over.

Morocco had carved out the better opportunities on the break but En-Nesyri sent two free headers off target and Sofiane Boufal’s curler was straight at costa.

In his desperation for an equaliser, Fernando Santos sent on Ronaldo early in the second half but the 37-year-old – who equalled Kuwait striker Bader Al-Mutawa’s international caps record – found it difficult to make any impact.

Having seen rival Lionel Messi reach the semi-finals on Friday, Ronaldo could not do the same with his side on what is likely to be his final World Cup appearance, trudging down the tunnel in tears at full-time as his dream was over.

Source: myjoyonline

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Morocco wins bid to host Africa Cup of Nations finals in 2025

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The East African joint candidature for the 2027 AFCON was a surprising triumph, bringing the finals back to the area for the first time since 1976. The proposal outperformed rivals Botswana, Egypt, and Senegal. Algeria was also a candidate but withdrew a day before the election. Notably, Kenya had previously been offered hosting rights for the 1996 AFCON but had failed to capitalise on the occasion owing to insufficient preparations. A FIFA suspension imposed due to government meddling in the operation of the country's football association was recently removed.

Morocco was officially awarded the host of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals on Wednesday, succeeding Guinea, who was stripped of hosting rights last year.

A combined proposal by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda was also given the rights to the 2027 event.

Algeria, Zambia, and a combined candidature from Benin and Nigeria withdrew from competition before the decision of the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee in Cairo, and Morocco was chosen as the host for the 2025 AFCON. Morocco was largely anticipated to win the hosting rights, which may improve its hopes of hosting the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Spain.

The East African joint candidature for the 2027 AFCON was a surprising triumph, bringing the finals back to the area for the first time since 1976. The proposal outperformed rivals Botswana, Egypt, and Senegal. Algeria was also a candidate but withdrew a day before the election.

Notably, Kenya had previously been offered hosting rights for the 1996 AFCON but had failed to capitalise on the occasion owing to insufficient preparations. A FIFA suspension imposed due to government meddling in the operation of the country’s football association was recently removed.

CAF President Patrice Motsepe emphasised the need of spreading the event across different areas to help football flourish. Morocco will host the popular sports event for the second time in 2025, with the last time being over four decades ago in 1988.

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I plan to invest in ‘world-class’ sports facilities – Alan Kyerematen

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He stated that this would entail the construction of sports academies. In recent months, the status of the country's athletic infrastructure has been a significant talking topic, with many decrying the lack of quality standard facilities and the poor upkeep of those that do exist.

If elected President in the 2024 general elections, Alan Kyerematen has promised to supervise investment in the creation of “world-class” sporting facilities in Ghana.

On Monday, the former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential candidate announced his departure from the party, proclaiming his desire to run as an independent candidate in the 2024 elections.

Speaking on his 15-point Great Transformational Plan (GTP), Mr Kyerematen outlined his proposal of “investing in world-class new generation sports facilities in selected competitive sporting disciplines.”

He stated that his administration would “encourage the participation of the private sector in the development of sports infrastructure around the country.”

He stated that this would entail the construction of sports academies.

In recent months, the status of the country’s athletic infrastructure has been a significant talking topic, with many decrying the lack of quality standard facilities and the poor upkeep of those that do exist.

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Black Stars coach Chris Hughton feels player exodus is unavoidable in Ghana

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Black Stars coach Chris Hughton

Ghana’s Black Stars head coach, Chris Hughton, believes that player exodus in Ghana’s leagues cannot be prevented.

According to him, players would continue to leave the country to play elsewhere since it is unavoidable that players will desire to ply their trade in Europe.

In an interview with the media following his visit to Sunyani to observe the Ghana Premier League game between Bofoakwa Tano and Real Tamale United FC, the coach explained why he believes players would continue to seek better pastures.

“This is a question for every Head Coach in the last couple of years,” he told Akwaaba Radio.

“There will always be, of course, players that leave here [Ghana] and go and play in Europe and this is something that has happened for quite some time.”

“If you generally gauge the national team, the Black Stars squad has most of the players playing abroad.”

“This is always the challenge, this is a challenge for the local league, the premier league to be at level, a competitive one that, whoever the Black Stars coach is, can look at it and pick from it,” he added.

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