We are the Rocky Balboa of this World Cup, says Morocco coach Walid Regragui

Just like an oasis stands out in a desert the Moroccan team has stood out in the sea of footballing talent on view at this World CupOn Saturday night when Youssef EnNesyri 42nd minute rose above all at the Al Thumama Stadium to head home what turned out to be the matchwinner against Portugal he also lifted a tiny nation and placed them among the high and mighty of the footballing worldPortugalrsquos superstars like Bruno Fernandes Joao Felix and even the great Cristiano Ronaldo had no answer to the grit and pure heart shown by the Moroccan underdogsMoroccorsquos Youssef EnNesyri right heads to score against Portugal in the World Cup quarterfinal at the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha on Saturday PicsGetty ImagesTheir coach Walid Regragui drew a reellife parallel to the Hollywood blockbuster Rocky where underdog boxer Sylvester Stallone aka Rocky Balboa punches his way to glory ldquoThis is no miracle Many in Europe may think it is But we have beaten Belgium Spain and now Portugal without conceding a goal and that can only be done with hard work My players have shown heart and commitment just like Rocky Balboa When you watch Rocky you support him because of his heart and commitment We are the Rocky of this World Cup We have shown the world that you can achieve even if you donrsquot have as much talent or quality or money but are willing to work hardrdquo an elated Regragui 47 said at the postmatch press conference after his team became the first African and Arab nation to storm into the World Cup semifinalsAlso ReadSylvester Stallone Know the man behind the muscleNot fair for us to lose SantosPortugal coach Fernando Santos admitted his opponents were a hard nut to crack ldquoWe watched their match against Spain so we knew about their defensive strategy We needed to be creative we needed to challenge the ball and score goals but we failed Itrsquos not fair for us to lose but this is football You need luck too And I must give credit to Moroccordquo said SantosMorocco coach Walid RegraguiRonaldo 37 once again came off the bench only in the second half but before him both Felix and Fernandes failed to breach the defence of Moroccorsquos superstar goalkeeper Yassine Bounou 31The tall sixfeet four inches custodian dived either side to comfortably ward off their shotsRonaldo made a brilliant late attempt too when he hammered in a running ball from the right but Bounou got down to thwart it easilyBounou who plays in goal for Spanish side Sevilla was aptly named Player of the Match a second time first being when he denied Spain thrice during their Roundof16 penalty shootout But he handed the trophy to teammate EnNesyriAlso ReadFIFA World Cup 2022 Morocco goal keeper Yassine Bounou disappears before the kickoffGoalie Bounou hails team effortldquoPinch me I think Irsquom dreamingrdquo was Bounoursquos reaction when asked to describe the featldquoItrsquos really hard to find the words to describe this moment Irsquove got this title only because I have great players in my team I just want to thank my teammates for their hard work and our supporters who had our backsrdquo added Bounou who later reentered the pitch to play football with his twoyearold son probably sowing the seeds of yet another future Moroccan World Cup superstar