World Cup 2022: Reasons for Portugal to be confident of beating Morocco

After finishing top of Group H with six points from three games, A Selecao comfortably dispatched Switzerland in the last 16, cruising to a 6-1 victory on Tuesday.

Fernando Santos and co are brimming with confidence at present and will be optimistic about their chances of progressing to the last eight for the first time since 2006, with Morocco - the lowest-ranked nation remaining at the World Cup - standing in their way.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at three reasons for Portugal to be confident of making it through to the semi-finals with victory over Morocco.

Attacking excellence

Portugal are the joint-highest scorers at this year's World Cup along with England after netting 12 times in four matches - the only time A Selecao have scored more in a single tournament was back in 1966 when they found the net 17 times in six games.

Santos's side, who have scored at least twice in three of their four matches in Qatar, appear to be peaking at the right time and their most recent outing showcased why their fearsome frontline is so highly rated.

Indeed, Portugal netted six times against Switzerland, with Goncalo Ramos - starting ahead of captain Cristiano Ronaldo - scoring the first hat-trick of this year's World Cup, while Pepe, Rafael Guerreiro and Rafael Leao were also on the scoresheet.

Ronaldo, who is the only player in history to score at five different World Cups, will be hoping to put his stamp on Saturday's game if called upon as he bids to score his first knockout-stage goal in the competition, while Santos has a plethora of other attacking options who could cause problems to Morocco's backline.

In addition, Portugal have won 17 and drawn three of their 20 World Cup games when scoring the opening goal, more than any other nation in the competition's history.

Fine form of Bruno Fernandes

One of the standout performers of Portugal's 2022 World Cup campaign has been Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, who is relishing his responsibility as a key player in Santos's side.

The 28-year-old has contributed with two goals and three assists in three games for A Selecao so far in Qatar; only France's Kylian Mbappe (seven - five goals and two assists) has been directly involved in more goals at this year's tournament.

In addition to his brace against Uruguay, Fernandes also scored twice in the first 45 minutes of Portugal's 4-0 friendly win over Nigeria a week before their group-stage campaign began.

Fernandes's three assists, meanwhile, are the joint-most of any Portuguese player in a single World Cup finals, along with Antonio Simoes and Jose Torres in 1966 and Luis Figo in 2006.

Portugal have a number of attack-minded stars within their ranks, but the fine form of Fernandes could be key in their quest to breach Morocco's backline on Saturday.

The record of European nations against African opposition

Portugal's clash with Morocco will be the 12th knockout match at the World Cup between European and African nations. The previous 11 have seen the European teams dominate as they have come out on the winning side on nine of those occasions.

A Selecao have performed well against African opposition on the international stage, winning 18, drawing five and losing only three of their 26 encounters against 13 different opponents.

In addition, Portugal have won five of their six World Cup meetings with African nations, including a 1-0 group-stage win over Morocco in 2018 and the 3-2 group-stage victory against Ghana in this year's competition.

Portugal have progressed from both of their previous two quarter-final matches at the World Cup and will be regarded as favourites in Saturday's clash with Morocco.

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