Can Morocco become the first African team to reach the semis by stunning Portugal tonight?

As the field continues to narrow and the World Cup trophy comes closer into sight, trailblazers Morocco looks to continue the Arab Spring as they meet quarter-final opponents Portugal at Al Thumama Stadium on Saturday.

Now set to battle it out for a place in the final four, the Atlas Lions held off Spain before emphatically winning on penalties to reach this stage for the first time, while the Selecao were a side transformed as they slayed Switzerland in the last 16.

Assuring hero status forever more, Achraf Hakimi applied the most delicate of finishing touches to Morocco's defensive masterclass on Tuesday, as his 'Panenka' penalty condemned Spain to a 3-0 shootout defeat and sent the North African nation through to the quarter-finals.

Having battled hard to resist the Spanish 'death by a thousand passes' approach, Walid Regragui's side had sacrificed the bulk of possession to grind out a goalless draw and set the stage for a spectacular finale, during which goalkeeper Yassine Bounou saved two spot-kicks and joined Hakimi as an eternal icon in Rabat, Marrakech and beyond.

Becoming just the fourth African side to reach the last eight at a World Cup - and the first for 12 years - sent a packed Education City Stadium wild, as it was largely populated by Moroccan fans whose fervour has proved such a prominent feature of these finals.

The Atlas Lions' only previous appearance in the last 16 came back in 1986, and Regragui's men have not only broken new ground for their nation but also the Arab world. In the process, they extended an unbeaten run in the World Cup to five matches and kept a remarkable sixth clean sheet from their last seven outings.

With the quality and commitment of Hakimi, fellow full-back Noussair Mazraoui, plus their centre-backs and tireless midfield anchor Sofyan Amrabat, a Morocco squad drawn partly from the diaspora have developed into one of international football's meanest defensive units.

Fending off members of the European establishment such as Croatia and Belgium also saw them finish first in Group F earlier on in the campaign, so tackling Portugal should hold no fears for the quarter-finals' outsiders.

Portugal had been effective if unspectacular in the group stage, but they released the handbrake in the last 16, demolishing Switzerland 6-1 in one of the finest performances by any team at Qatar 2022 after Goncalo Ramos came in for the benched Cristiano Ronaldo and scored a hat-trick.

With the out-of-form and maligned Ronaldo out of the team, there was a perception of Portugal suddenly realising their potential without the 37-year-old holding them back, and Ramos' performance – as he became the first player since 2002 to net a World Cup treble on his first start – was evidence of that.

But Fernandes – involved in more goals (five) than any of his team-mates in this tournament – insists Portugal will not be taking anything for granted.

Each of the previous three African teams to reach a quarter-final were all eliminated in the last eight, with Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010) falling at this hurdle.

Additionally, only two of the previous 11 knockout meetings between European and African teams at the World Cup have seen CAF sides progress, and one of those was Morocco's shoot-out win over Spain.

Morocco have been one of the best-supported nations in Qatar, and Regragui is calling on the support of the rest of the Arab world to help bridge the gap in quality to Portugal.

"We cannot achieve anything without the Moroccan public," he said. "Four days ago, they came to the hotel to ask for tickets, and many of them came from all over to encourage us.

"We tell our supporters that we need them, especially in the quarter-finals, to write history. We also need Arab supporters; Algerians, Tunisians and Africans, and we know that many countries are behind us."

Players to Watch
Morocco: Yassine Bounou
He was the Atlas Lions' hero in the last 16, saving two penalties in the shoot-out – the other hit the post, but he seemed to have it covered anyway.

But even outside of penalty shoot-outs, Bounou is a key man for Morocco as a dependable goalkeeper who was even nominated for FIFA's Yashin Trophy – the prize given to the world's best keeper – earlier this year.

Portugal: Concalo Ramos
Will Fernando Santos stick to his guns and keep Ronaldo on the bench? Judging by the team's performance against Switzerland, he should.

Ramos had a hand in four goals against the Swiss and his hat-trick in 74 minutes was more knockout goals than Ronaldo has ever managed in the knockout stages of the World Cup (none in 531 minutes).

Prediction
Portugal are firm favourites here, with Santos' side having a 55.8% chance of progressing to the semi-finals in the 90 minutes.

Morocco have an 18.8% likelihood of winning in normal time, with the draw and extra time, possibly followed by the dreaded penalty shootout is rated at 25.4%.

Clearly then, while the Atlas Lions are the underdogs, they have a good opportunity to at least force extra-time, which did not work out too badly for them last time.