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Morocco advance to World Cup semi-finals   (12th December, 2022)

The 2022 World Cup is continuing to produce shock results. The latest is Morocco's defeat of European powerhouse Portugal. Youssef En Nesyri's soaring 42nd-minute header saw Morocco advance to the semi-finals. In so doing, they become the first African or Arab nation to get to the last four. Many soccer pundits argue the 1-0 result was not a shock. Morocco are only one of three teams to reach the quarter-finals stage undefeated. They have also conceded just one goal. They defeated one of the pre-tournament favourites, Belgium, at the group stage, and then eliminated former world champions Spain in an earlier knockout stage. Their performances have been full of grit, attacking flair and determined defending.
         Dubbed the Atlas Lions, Morocco look forward to opponents France in their semi-final on December the 14th. They are one game away from a historic appearance in the final. Their win against Portugal ignited an outpouring of joy and raucous celebrations throughout Morocco and the Moroccan diaspora across Africa. So momentous was the win that at the final whistle, congratulations from world leaders flooded social media. The ruler of Dubai tweeted: "It was an unprecedented victory for Arab football." Somalia's president tweeted: "This is testimony that Africa is rising and we are a force to be reckoned with." Morocco coach Walid Regragui said his team would, "write history for Africa".

 

SPORTING EVENTS: How great are these sporting events? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Great Things	Not So Great Things
Soccer World Cup
Summer Olympics
Winter Olympics
Formula 1
Wimbledon
Tour de France

FOOTBALL ROLE: Rank these with your partner. Put the best roles at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

·         Coach / Manager

·         Goalkeeper

·         Defender

·         Central defender

·         Midfielder

·         Winger

·         Forward

·         Substitute

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

1.	powerhouse	a.	An expert in a particular subject or field who is frequently called upon to give their opinions to the public.
2.	soaring	b.	A person or thing of great energy or strength.
3.	pundit	c.	Failed to prevent an opponent scoring a goal or point.
4.	conceded	d.	Completely remove or get rid of something.
5.	eliminated	e.	Flying or rising high in the air.
6.	grit	f.	Stylishness and originality.
7.	flair	g.	Courage and resolve; strength of character.

    Paragraph 2

8.	dubbed	h.	Aroused or inflamed an emotion or situation.
9.	ignited	i.	Of great importance or significance, especially in having a bearing on future events.
10.	raucous	j.	Given an unofficial name or nickname to.
11.	diaspora	k.	Making a loud noise.
12.	momentous	l.	Never done or known before.
13.	unprecedented	m.	The grouping of any people from their original homeland.
14.	testimony	n.	Evidence or proof of something.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

1. The article says Morocco's win is the biggest World Cup shock so far.     T / F
2. Morocco is the second African nation ever to reach the semi-finals.     T / F
3. Morocco let in just one goal in the earlier stages of this tournament.     T / F
4. The article says Morocco have showed grit and determination.     T / F
5. The Morocco team is nicknamed the Sahara Lions.     T / F
6. The Moroccan diaspora celebrated all across Africa.     T / F
7. Dubai's ruler described Morocco's win as being "unprecedented".     T / F
8. Somalia's president tweeted that Morocco is rising.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1. shock
2. defeat
3. pundits
4. conceded
5. flair
6. dubbed
7. raucous
8. momentous
9. reckoned with
10. testimony

1. nicknamed
2. let in
3. evidence
4. noisy
5. loss
6. style
7. experts
8. taken into account
9. upset
10. significant

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1. The 2022 World Cup is continuing to produce
2. soccer
3. They have also conceded
4. eliminated former
5. Their performances have been full of
6. a historic appearance
7. Their win against Portugal ignited
8. raucous
9. at the final
10. testimony that Africa

1. in the final
2. is rising
3. grit
4. pundits
5. an outpouring of joy
6. just one goal
7. shock results
8. whistle
9. world champions Spain
10. celebrations