LIVE BLOG: World Cup, Day 17 – Portugal set up quarter-final with Morocco

Published Dec 6, 2022

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Welcome to day 17 of the Fifa World Cup in Qatar. IOL Sport will bring you all the live updates from the biggest sports event on the planet!

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FULL TIME: Portugal 6, Switzerland 1

Gonçalo Ramos scored the first hat-trick of the World Cup as Portugal beat Switzerland to advance to the quarter-finals of the competition on Tuesday.

HALF TIME: Portugal 2, Switzerland 0

No Cristiano Ronaldo, no problem. Portugal take a 2-0 lead into the break of their last 16 clash against Switzerland after goals from Gonçalo Ramos and captain Pepe.

NEXT UP: Portugal v Switzerland

The big news from this evening’s clash is that Portugal coach Fernando Santos has benched skipper and all-time top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portugal: Diogo Costa, Diogo Dalot, Pepe (capt), Ruben Dias, Raphael Guerreiro, Bruno Fernandes, Otavio, Bernardo Silva, Joao Felix, William Carvalho, Goncalo Ramos

Switzerland: Yann Sommer, Edimilson Fernandes, Manuel Akanji, Breel Embolo, Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka (capt), Ricardo Rodriguez, Djibril Sow, Ruben Vargas, Fabian Schaer, Xherdan Shaqiri

AFTER EXTRA-TIME: Morocco 0, Spain. Morocco win 3-0 on penalties

Morocco have reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time ever after beating 2010 winners Spain on penalties on Tuesday.

Morocco 0, Spain 0 after extra-time

We have penalties again after Morocco and Spain couldn’t find the back of the net in two hours of football.

FULL TIME: Morocco 0, Spain 0

We’re into extra-time for the second time in Qatar after Morocco’s World Cup last 16 clash against 2010 winners Spain ended goalless.

HALF TIME: Morocco 0, Spain 0

Neither side has been able to break the deadlock in their World Cup last 16 clash in Al Rayyan on Tuesday.

In Tuesday’s World Cup fixtures, Africa’s sole survivor at the tournament takes on Spain while Portugal takes on Switzerland. Both games promise to be interesting and competitive fixtures.

5pm: Morocco v Spain

Walid Regragui’s side have the potential to be one of the surprise packages of the World Cup. They are unbeaten in the tournament, after having picked up wins against Canada and Belgium while they drew against Croatia.

The Atlas Lions are blessed with pace and one of the world’s best right-backs in Achraf Hakimi. They will definitely make life difficult for La Roja who enter the game on the back of a surprise 2-1 defeat against Japan.

Spain have a talented young core boasting the likes of Pedri and Gavi. This team will probably be a strong force in the 2026 World Cup as it gains more experience but they will still be looking for a strong run in Qatar. A positive result against Morocco will see them advance to the last eight.

In Luis Enrique, the Spanish also have one of the best tacticians in the tournament.

Key Players

Morocco: Achraf Hakimi (right-back), Hakim Ziyech (attacking midfielder), Youssef En-Nesyri (striker)

Spain: Gavi (central midfielder), Pedri (central midfielder), Rodri (defensive midfielder)

Head To Head

The teams have met against each other three times before with Spain winning twice and the latest match, a 2-2 group stage result during the 2018 World Cup, ending in a draw.

9pm: Portugal v Switzerland

Portugal won Group H but showed plenty of flaws in their 2-1 defeat against South Korea to conclude the group stage. The Selecao have a talented side but will need to be on their toes and not make silly mistakes which have haunted them in recent years if they are to win this game.

Switzerland also boast a talented side, as they always do, and for a change will go all out to prove that they are not just in Qatar to make up numbers during the knockout stage.

Key Players

Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo (forward), Bruno Fernandes (attacking midfielder), Ruben Dias (centre-back)

Switzerland: Granit Xhaka (midfielder), Xherdan Shaqiri (forward), Manuel Akanji (defender)

Head To Head

The teams have met 25 times before. Portugal have won nine times, Switzerland 11 and the other five games have ended in draws.

Portugal have won three out of their last four games against the Swiss. However, the teams last met in the Uefa Nations League in June and Switzerland won 1-0.

Brazil's players paid tribute to legend Pele, who is receiving hospital treatment in Sao Paulo because of his ailing health, after sauntering to a 4-1 World Cup victory over South Korea.

IOL Sport