Irish journalist Gavin Cooney joined Joe Molloy on The Football Show to discuss Morocco.
Spain faced a familiar fate today when they lost to Morocco.
It was a resolute performance from the African side as they held out for 120 minutes before winning on penalties. Spain passed the ball over 1,000 times, but didn't have a shot on target until an hour into the game. Morocco were disciplined and structured in how they defended. Spain had no cutting edge.
Portugal definitely had a cutting edge in their game against Switzerland. The starting side without Cristiano Ronaldo scored six goals en route to a 6-1 victory.
But Gavin Cooney doesn't think Portugal will have it so easy against Morocco. Morocco didn't just upset Spain in this tournament. They were outstanding in the group stage as well. They have proven to be impossible to break down, which will make them a difficult opponent for anyone they face.
"Morocco are an absolute nightmare to play against," Cooney said.
"Not only do they not give up any goals, they hardly give up any chances. I think they conceded five shots on target in the whole of the group stage, across all three games. And I think Spain had three tonight...they didn't have any until the hour mark.
"They're just superbly well organized.
"If you remember Jose Mourinho's last great triumph in his mind, it was probably the 2010 Inter Milan team that knocked out Pep's Barcelona. And he talked about not parking the bus but parking an airplane. Because he also denied space down the wings.
"That's kind of what Morocco did today.
"You have Hakim Ziyech, who is no one's idea of a workhorse, he was so well disciplined doubling up with Hakimi whenever Spain tried to attack down that side...they're so difficult to play through, they're so difficult to create chances against."
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