Morocco qualifies to the World Cup semifinals, after defeating Portugal 1-0 at the World Cup in Qatar. Morocco become the first African team to make it to a World Cup semifinal.

Morocco wrote World Cup history Saturday night as the first African and Arab country to reach the tournament’s semi-finals, continuing their surprise run in Qatar with a shock 1-0 victory over the highly fancied Portugal.

Youssef En-Nesyri leapt high in the air to head home the game’s only goal just before halftime at the Al-Thumama Stadium to strike a significant blow against football’s established order and book a semifinal spot on Wednesday against either England or France, who meet later Saturday.

The result will be widely celebrated across Africa and the Arabic-speaking Middle East, desperate to see one of their teams in contention for the biggest prize in football.

Morocco had already bested Belgium and Spain in this tournament but the win over Portugal is of much greater significance. (Reuters)