Morocco striker jumps nearly 3m to score Portugal
In the 42nd minute of the quarter-final match at Al Thumama, defender Yahia Attiyat Allah crossed from the left into the penalty area. Portugal goalkeeper Diego Costa made a mistake when he missed the punch, and Youssef En-Nesyri pressed the face of Man City defender Ruben Dias to head it.
According to beIN Sports, FIFA's 2022 World Cup television partner in the Middle East and North Africa region, En-Nesyri touched the ball at a height of 2.78 m - a World Cup record. Morocco's striker is 1m88 tall, which means he has bounced up nearly a meter vertically.
According to Ole - Argentina's daily sports newspaper, besides the height, the ability to jump and the full body is decisive in air combat situations like En-Nesyri's goal.
Ronaldo - En-Nesyri's rival on Al Thumama field and famous for his jumping ability - has only surpassed this milestone once. In the Champions League season 2012-2013, Ronaldo - then in a Real shirt - jumped 2.93 m high with a time in the air of 0.73 seconds, to catch Angel Di Maria's cross and then hit David's net. De Gea.
After this record, the Portuguese striker's best aerial record is a 2.56 m high bounce with his knee almost at the level of the opponent's head in the Juventus game against Sampdoria in 2019. At the team level, Ronaldo's highest header came in the Euro 2016 semi-final against Wales, with more than 2.4 m. These numbers are all inferior to En-Nesyri in the 2022 World Cup semi-final on December 10.
En-Nesyri's goal goal caused a storm on social networks. "Even Ronaldo has to admire that jump," one fan commented. "Morocco's fairy tale continues, thanks to En-Nesyri's leap," another wrote. Meanwhile, former striker Gary Lineker whispered: "A great jump from En Nesyri. Is there any spring mattress under the field?".
This was En-Nesyri's third goal from the start of the tournament, making him the highest scoring Moroccan player at the World Cup. More importantly, the 25-year-old striker helped Morocco continue to make history, becoming the first African representative to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup. Before Qatar 2022, the best performance of African football in the World Cup was in the quarterfinals, belonging to Cameroon 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana 2010. In the semi-finals on December 14, Morocco will meet the defending champion team. France.
En-Nesyri grew up at the Mohammed VI Football Academy - one of the most prestigious football academies in Morocco. In 2016, he joined Malaga and has not left Spain since. In 2018, after Malaga was relegated, En-Nesyri signed a five-year contract with Leganes, then joined Sevilla for nearly $ 25 million in January 2020. Here, the Morocco striker always keeps the main kick and currently has 37 goals in 122 matches in all competitions.
En-Nesyri made his debut for Morocco in 2016, and currently has 17 goals in 55 games. In the 2018 World Cup group stage, he contributed a goal in a 2-2 draw with Spain, but did not help Morocco in the 1/8 round. The 25-year-old striker also joined Morocco in the 2019 and 2021 Africa Cups.
