Portugal: Did Man Utd star try to copy Netherlands' World Cup stunner? | OneFootball

Portugal huffed and puffed in their attempts to save their World Cup dreams in a shocking 1-0 defeat to Morocco on Saturday night.

In truly remarkable scenes at the Al Thumama Stadium, Morocco upset the applecart to become the first African team in World Cup history to reach the semi-finals as Youssef En-Nesyri’s gravity-defying header made all the difference.

It was a crushing blow for Portugal as they looked to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2006 when a young Cristiano Ronaldo and an experienced Luis Figo pulled the strings.

But in the end, even the introduction of Ronaldo off the bench in what must surely be his final ever World Cup game couldn’t save Portugal from yet another disappointing exit.

And it just goes to show that Morocco are proving incredibly tough to break down in Qatar with not a single opposition player having rippled their net throughout the entire tournament.

An own goal by Nayef Aguerd is the only time that the Moroccans have conceded all winter long, astonishingly racking up clean sheets against Croatia, Belgium, Spain and Portugal.

In fact, even Portugal’s most inventive attempts to break down the resistance of Walid Regragui’s men proved futile with the 2016 European champions seemingly attempting to channel their continental neighbours in a last-ditch attempt to equalise.

What was the Netherlands’ free-kick routine?

We are, of course, referencing the Netherlands’ stunning stoppage-time strike against Argentina the previous day, which saw Wout Weghorst score from a superbly worked free-kick routine.

Just as everyone seemed certain that Teun Koopmeiners would shoot from the edge of the area, the Oranje star instead slipped the ball cannily to Weghorst and the rest, as they say, is history.

Video: Koopmeiners’ inspired free-kick vs Argentina

But Portugal’s attempts to replicate that very routine – whether deliberately or not – were far from successful with Bruno Fernandes spurning a brilliant opportunity for Fernando Santos’ men.

What did Fernandes try to save Portugal?

In amusing footage which has since gone viral, the Manchester United midfielder can be seen lining up a free-kick from about 30 yards out in the final 10 minutes of their clash with Morocco.

And although there was less of an assumption that Fernandes would shoot and the clock wasn’t ticking quite as perilously in this instance, the plan of action nevertheless seemed remarkably similar to what the Dutch had pulled off. Only, in Portugal’s case, it was a complete disaster.

With Fernandes’ attempts to replicate the genius displayed the night before tepidly landing at the feet of the wall, it was only inevitable that fans would make unflattering comparisons online.

So be sure to check out the painfully awkward moment that Portugal spurned an attempt at a cheeky free-kick routine less than 24 hours after the Dutch pulled it off to perfection.

Obviously, it’s impossible to tell whether Fernandes was deliberately trying to copy Koopmeiners and though that, having watched the Netherlands equalise the previous night, it would work with just as much efficiency for Portugal.

However, the general idea of trying to bypass the wall and catch out the opposition with a short, low and penetrative pass straight down the middle is undoubtedly something that the two case studies have in common.

And as such, whether by gut-wrenching coincidence or an amusing, legitimate link, Fernandes’ late-in-the-day free-kick is guaranteed to be compare unfavourably to that of Koopmeiners.

2022 World Cup quiz: Can you name these 32 players that starred in Qatar?

If there’s any consolation for Fernandes and Portugal, though, it’s that it didn’t work out for either nation when it came to the final result in their quarter-final tie. The World Cup can be so cruel…

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