Morocco qualifies to quarter-finals, Ramos bags first Qatar hat-trick
Morocco and Portugal made it to the next stage of the World Cup, with both parties winning against their Spanish and Swiss counterparts, respectively.
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The Moroccan national team celebrating its historic win over Spain with Palestinian flags on December 6, 2022, Qatar
Morocco moved on Tuesday to the quarter-finals of the World Cup after a legendary win over Spain 3-0.
The win was recorded through a penalty shootout between the two after a strenuous two-hour-long game that did not result in any goals.
The match took place at the Education City Stadium, with the Morrocans winning a 3-0 penalty shootout after their goalie, Yassine "Bono" Bounou saved two shots after one hit the post.
After their victory, the Moroccan national team celebrated its advance into the World Cup quarter-finals with the Palestinian flag, expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The celebration of the win, gained by Morocco through a landslide victory in penalty kicks, garnered a lot of attention on social media, with thousands posting photos and videos of the players celebrating their historic win with the Palestinian flag.
#Moroccan players celebrated their huge win against #Spain with the #Palestinian flag, affirming their support for the Palestinian cause against the Israeli occupation.#Morocco #Palestine pic.twitter.com/k76kfS2SO2
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 6, 2022
This is not the first time the Moroccan national team celebrates its win by waving the Palestinian flag, as Center-Back Jawad el Yamiq was seen carrying the Palestinian flag and celebrating his team's win over the Canadian national team. The win qualified Morocco for the round of 16.
World Cup's first hat-trick
Portugal's Goncalo Ramos justified the shock decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo by scoring a hat-trick on his full debut as his team demolished Switzerland 6-1 making it into the World Cup quarter-finals.
Ramos, 21, who started instead of Ronaldo, became the youngest player to land a hat-trick in a World Cup knockout match since Pele in 1958.
Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro, and Rafael Leao also added figures to Portugal's scoreboard, allowing their team to advance and face off against Morocco on Saturday for a match in the last four in Qatar.
The only man that has ever scored goals at five different World Cups, Cristiano Ronaldo, was left on the bench by coach Fernando Santos against the Swiss after his angry response to being substituted in the last group game.
