Morocco became the first side to be knocked out of 2018 FIFA World Cup after they lost their Group B encounter against Portugal on Wednesday.
The African nation, who lost their first match 1-0 against Iran, suffered another defeat by the scoreline as Cristiano Ronaldo scored for Portugal.
The Portuguese striker scored in the fourth minute to put his country ahead, but Morocco created a lot of chances in the second half. However, the failure of their players to capitalise on the opportunities led to their elimination.
Despite the loss, an emotional Morocco coach Herve Renard said he was proud of his players.
“I’m not disappointed about the performance, I’m happy with it and very proud of my players,” Renard said. “As in the first game, we had a lot of chances and I won’t criticise anyone.”
Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s goal was his 85th for Portugal and now he is the leading scorer in world football from an European nation. He overtook Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas (84 goals)to go on top of the list. They are followed by his compatriot Sandor Kocsis (75) and German great Miroslav Klose (71).