Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes has congratulated Morocco on reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup - but has admitted that it is "painful" for him and Portugal to have exited the competition.
After breezing past Switzerland in the last-16 last Tuesday evening, winning 6-1, Portugal entered their quarter-final clash with Morocco as strong favourites to progress to the semi-finals. However, striker Youssef En-Nesyri netted the only goal of the game, beating Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa to the ball and heading home.
Portugal, who brought Cristiano Ronaldo off the bench to try and keep their World Cup dream alive in the second half, did have chances to draw level, the best of which fell to veteran centre-back Pepe in stoppage time. The defeat brought Portugal's dream of winning their first-ever World Cup to an end, leaving former United striker Ronaldo in tears.
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For Morocco, however, their achievement of reaching the last four is one of the greatest in World Cup history. They have beaten Belgium, Spain and Portugal on route to the semi-finals, all without conceding a goal to an opposition player so far, meaning they deserve immense credit for their achievement.
And Fernandes, to his credit, has hailed Morocco's achievement.
"It's difficult to express in a few words everything we felt yesterday after the game ended," Fernandes posted on Twitter. "Our dream fell apart when we did everything to make it end differently.
"It's sad and painful because representing ours means much more than just playing football. Despite the elimination, I am very proud to be Portuguese and even more proud of all those who represented our country with me in this World Cup.
"I would also like to congratulate the Moroccan team for the great game and for deservedly qualifying for the semi-finals of the World Cup."
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