Portugal is on the cusp of exiting the World Cup as Morocco’s fairytale continues in Qatar.
The Moroccans lead 1-0 late in the second half after Youssef En-Nesyri’s 42nd minute opener.
Cristiano Ronaldo started on the bench once more for Portugal before entering early in the second half.
Coach Fernando Santos dropped the five-time Ballon d’Or winner for the last 16 win over Switzerland, and maintained a similar line-up against the North Africans.
Goncalo Ramos, who scored a hat-trick in the 6-1 victory, led the line again, with support from Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Joao Felix.
Ruben Neves replaced William Carvalho in defensive midfield for Santos’s only change, while Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo also remained on the bench with Ronaldo.
Morocco was forced into two changes in defence, with Nayef Aguerd and Noussair Mazraoui both unable to play because of injury problems.
Jawad El Yamiq stepped in at centre-back in place of the West Ham defender while Yahya Attiat-Allah played at left-back in place of the Bayern Munich man.
Ronaldo equalled the men’s international world record of 196 selections when he came on.
The 37-year-old equalled the record set by Kuwait international Bader Al-Mutawa.
More to come …
