Portugal 1-0 Morocco: 3 things we learned

Portugal defeated Morocco 1-0 in their World Cup Group B encounter on Friday. Here are three things we learned from the match.

Portugal overcame Morocco 1-0 at the Luzhniki Stadium on Friday. An early goal from Cristiano Ronaldo, his fourth of the competition, was enough to secure victory for the reigning European champions and resulted in Morocco becoming the first team to be eliminated from this year’s competition.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo is Europe’s greatest goalscorer

Upon opening the scoring for the second week in a row, Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed the record of former Hungarian international Ferenc Puskas for the most international goals scored by a European player. Ronaldo now boasts a return of 85 goals for Portugal and is behind only Ali Daei of Iran for the all-time record.

Ronaldo’s fourth-minute opener was also his fourth goal of the tournament which means he has now scored more goals at this World Cup than he did at each of the previous three editions of the competition combined.

2. Morocco’s elimination confirmed

Morocco’s only appearance in the knock-out rounds of the World Cup came in 1986 after they defeated none other than Portugal to secure progression. There wasn’t to be a repeat occurrence this time around though as their defeat sees them become the first nation to be eliminated from this year’s competition.

Elimination is harsh for the Atlas Lions who, despite having failed to score in their opening two matches, impressed many with their attacking style of play. They still have one match to play against Spain but it will now count for little more than a farewell showing.

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3. Head injuries remain a contentious issue

Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius drew much criticism for his performance in the Champions Legaue final last month but it was later revealed that he played through the match with a concussion following a collision with Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos. That Karius was allowed to play on in his condition drew widespread conversation and called into question soccer’s approach to head injuries.

In Morocco’s opening World Cup match, Nordin Amrabat suffered an even heavier blow to the head which knocked him unconscious and required hospitalization. The former PSV winger returned against Portugal despite the match taking place just four days later after his injury. He took to the field donning protective head gear, but it will have done little to assuage those who feel that not enough is being done to protect players.