Portugal vs Morocco: Live blog, text commentary, line-ups, stream & TV channel

Portugal will now turn their focus to their final game against Iran but they will need to improve. Ronaldo was left isolated on so many occasions and they looked vulnerable down both flanks. Morocco will be playing for pride next week as they prepare to entertain Spain before heading home!

Morocco are the first team to exit the 2018 Russia World Cup after two defeats from as many matches. They responded brilliantly after their heartbreaking defeat to Iran but it was not enough as Portugal did enough to hang on. Ronaldo was the hero once again thanks to his first-half header but they were lucky to hang on at times this afternoon. 

FULL TIME - Portugal 1-0 Morocco

90+4 mins: Into the final minute, Morocco need to get the ball down the other end of the field. 

90+2 mins: OVER!! Another free kick causes Portugal problems and Benatia is once again the first man to react inside the area. However, he produces another defender's finish and cannot keep his shot on target. 

90+1 mins: Silva has been on the field for a matter of seconds and he is booked for trying to time waste.

90 mins: Five minutes of stoppage time given at the Luzhniki stadium!

89 mins: CHANCE - Morocco work their way into the Portugal box but Pepe is on hand to put his body in the way and concede a corner.

Final change from Santos as Moutinho walks off the field of play and is now replaced by Adrien Silva.

86 mins: Sub for Morocco with time running out as Fajr replaces El Ahmadi.

85 mins: BLOCK! Ronaldo steps up to take the free kick but the wall stands firm. The Madrid man goes down straight after and claims he should have a penalty but the game moves on. 

83 mins: Ronaldo has possibly had less than five touches but with his latest one he wins a free kick on the edge of the Morocco box. 

81 mins: OVER! Dirar stays back for a corner but the ball flies towards him and he gets a little excited. He tries to replicate Nacho's effort against Portugal but he gets it wrong and smashes it into the crowd.

80 mins: Morocco continue to throw everything at the Portugal defence but the European champions seem happy to absorb the attacks. Will they live to regret that decision?

78 mins: MISS - Morocco win another free kick and Benatia misses another chance from inside the box. The defender glides away from his marker but the ball hits his shoulder and a goal kick is awarded.

77 mins: Morocco are starting to make things harder for themselves and their best chance of a goal looks like it will come from a set piece.

75 mins: Belhanda, who forced that sensational save out of Patricio, is now making his way off. He will be replaced by Carcela-Gonzalez.

73 mins: Amrabat has struggled to get into the game during the last five minutes and the recent subs have also changed the tempo of the game. Renard looks like he will make another alteration as one of his players is stripped off and ready to go!

71 mins: Around 20 minutes to go and time is running out for Morocco. They have tried so hard and will feel they could have got a result if it remains 1-0 to Santos' outfit.  

70 mins: Midfielder Mario has not made the best impression this afternoon and he is now replaced by Fernandes.

69 mins: First change for Morocco as Boutaib makes way for El Kaabi. Big chance for the sub to become a hero!

68 mins: JUST OVER! Ziyech calls rank on the set piece but he cannot get his shot up and down after beating the wall. His left-footed effort sails over the bar and Patricio will now take the goal kick.

67 mins: Morocco win a free-kick after Guerreiro makes another sloppy tackle. He has really struggled out there this afternoon.

65 mins: A Mexican wave sweeps around the Luzhniki Stadium and there's plenty of time left for a few more goals. 

63 mins: The tempo has slowed down for Morocco and they might want to make a substitution to help their chances.

60 mins: CHANCE - Another set piece from Morocco causes problems and Benatia reacts quickly to try and volley home. However, he snatches at his effort and shoots into the stands. Terrible shot but another dangerous free kick from Renard's men.

59 mins: Manchester City's Silva has endured a quiet afternoon and he now makes way for Martins.

58 mins: First-class goalkeeping from Patricio in the last two minutes. He has barely had anything to do but shows tremendous concentration skills to make two saves.

57 mins: WHAT A SAVE!!!!! Stunning reflexes from Patricio keeps the score at 1-0 as he somehow leaps across to his right and palms away Belhanda's header.

56 mins: Amrabat wins a free-kick and he continues to have a superb game...

55 mins: SAVE!!! Amrabat draws in two defenders and plays in Belhanda on the edge of the box. The midfielder picks his spot but Patricio is alert and plucks the ball out of the air and thwarts the danger.

53 mins: Portugal look to have tightened up in midfield and as a result Morocco are not getting as much joy on the counter attack.

51 mins: OVER! Portugal have Morocco panicking for a second as they take a quick free kick. Mario turns near the byline and Ronaldo looks destined to score his fifth of the tournament but he blasts the ball into the stands!

48 mins: WIDE! Portugal win a corner and Fonte climbs high but as he heads wide the referee gives a free kick to Morocco.

46 mins: We are back underway in Moscow and Morocco have 45 minutes to avoid defeat as they try to stay in the World Cup.

Portugal need to try and bring Ronaldo into the game on a more regular basis but they are struggling to defend down the wings, especially against Amrabat. The crowd are fired up for this and it promises to be a cracking second half.

Portugal will feel fortunate to lead and they have Ronaldo to thank after his goal inside four minutes. Morocco have since kicked on and they look a real threat down both flanks and they can still get a result today if they maintain their current performance levels.

HALF TIME - Portugal 1-0 Morocco

45+3 mins: MISS - Morocco cause problems and should test Patricio but Benatia cannot react quick enough to head home Belhanda's flick on. 

45+2 mins: Morocco win a free kick after Guerreiro fouls Amrabat near the corner flag.

45+1 mins: Three minutes of stoppage time shown at the Luzhniki Stadium.

45 mins: We have a break in play as Belhanda goes down after being caught in the face by Carvalho. It looked accidental and he should be OK to continue.

42 mins: Just a few minutes to go until the break and Portugal have done a great job to stop Morocco's barrage of attacks. 

40 mins: SO CLOSE! Ronaldo brings the ball down and he plays in Guedes thanks to a well-weighted chip but the forward volleys straight into the hands of Mohamedi. 

Benatia is the first man into the book as the referee tries to control the game and not let things get out of hand.

36 mins: Morocco urge the referee to book Cedric as he brings down Boutaib but the appeals are ignored and play resumes on the halfway line.

35 mins: Only 35 minutes into the contest but this is a much better performance from Morocco as they try to keep their tournament hopes alive. The chances have dried up but they will be confident they can grab at least one goal this afternoon.

33 mins: Ronaldo starting to show signs of frustration as he moans at one or two of his team-mates as they decide against crossing. 

30 mins: The answer is no as he drills his effort straight into the Morocco wall. It remains 1-0 to Santos' men!

29 mins: Boutaib goes down in the Portugal box and demands a penalty but the Morocco fans are furious as Portugal break and Mario wins a free kick in a good position. It will be Ronaldo to take it...he can't do it again can he?

27 mins: BIG appeals for a penalty from the Morocco crowd as Amrabat goes down after a challenge from Guerreiro. The referee is not interested but Renard is left fuming on the touchline!

25 mins: More jeers as Ronaldo goes down and does a few forward rolls after being clipped on the ankle by Benatia.

23 mins: Ziyech goes looking for possession and glides inside before picking his spot from 25 yards out. Unfortunately, the winger fails to get the required power behind the ball and that is a comfortable save for new Wolves keeper Patricio.

21 mins: Morocco have been the better team inside the first 20 minutes but they have failed to take any of their chances. Boos can be heard from their fans as Portugal try to settle down and play keep ball for a minute or two.

20 mins: Ziyech wins a corner after some more good play but Portugal clear his delivery at the first time of asking. 

19 mins: CHANCE - Dirar beats the offside trap and drills a low cross into the box but the referee spots a foul in back play. Another warning sign for the European champions.

17 mins: Portugal need to improve here, they are really struggling to regain momentum despite being in the lead.

15 mins: Amrabat came into this game wearing a scrum cap but he appears to have taken it off. He will be hoping to avoid another nasty head clash!

13 mins: For the first time the two teams look to be trying to slow the play down and build from the back. Frantic start in Moscow and Portugal lead thanks to another fine finish from Ronaldo. 

11 mins: CHANCE - Morocco have responded well since going behind and Da Costa nearly finds an equaliser. Ziyech swings in a corner to the back post and Da Costa gets up well to head home but Patricio does well to smother his effort.

10 mins: CHANCE - Morocco work the ball down the right channel and Dirar picks out Boussoufa with a cross but the holding midfielder heads wide.

8 mins: CHANCE - Ronaldo nearly grabs a brace but he can only shoot wide of the far post. Morocco's defence collapses as Ronaldo turns on the edge of the box but he cannot find the bottom corner.

6 mins: Wonderful moment for Ronaldo as he has now scored more international goals than any other European player in the history of football with 85. What a player!

4 mins: After weathering some early pressure, Portugal now win a corner after Bernardo Silva's cross was turned behind.

Another set piece for Santos' men after Da Costa heads over a long-range effort from Guerreiro.

GOAAALL Portugal 1-0 Morocco - He's at it again, Ronaldo grabs his fourth goal of the tournament from the corner. The Real Madrid star wrestles away from his marker before diving low to head home past Mohamedi. Superb start for Portugal!!

Moutinho grabs the assist thanks to that superb curling delivery which caused chaos for the Morocco defence.

3 mins: Renard's men have to attack today and they have made a lively start with both Amrabat and Ziyech looking lively down the flanks. The latter swings in a cross for Boutaib but the striker can only head wide.

2 mins: It is very simple today for Morocco, if they lose then they are out of the tournament with one game to spare. 

1 min: We are underway in Moscow, with Morocco in their red strip and Portugal in all white. 

HERE WE GO...

We are nearly ready for kick off as both teams enter the tunnel, can Morocco tame Ronaldo?

Just one change for Portugal from that thrilling draw with Spain as Fernandes drops out for Joao Mario. Morocco coach Herve Renard has decided to make three alterations to his team with Saiss, Harit and El Kaabi all making way. With today a must win game, Renard brings in Da Costa, Ziyech and Boutaib.

Morocco SUBS: Amine Harit, Ayoub El Kaabi, Youssef En-Nesyri, Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez, Faycal Fajr, Hamza Mendyl, Sofyan Amrabat, Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti, Romain Saiss, Aziz Bouhaddouz, Bono.

Morocco Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Munir Mohamedi, Nabil Dirar, Medhi Benatia (c), Manuel da Costa, Achraf Hakimi, Karim El Ahmadi, Moubarak Boussoufa, Nordin Amrabat, Younes Belhanda, Hakim Ziyech, Khalid Boutaib.

Portugal SUBS: Anthony Lopes, Ricardo Quaresma, Adrien Silva, Andre Silva, Gelson Martins, Mario Rui, Beto, Ricardo Pereira, Bruno Fernandes, Manuel Fernandes, Bruno Alves, Ruben Dias.

Portugal Starting XI (4-4-2): Rui Patrício, Cédric Soares, Pepe, Jose Fonte, Raphael Guerreiro, Bernardo Silva, Joao Moutinho, William Carvalho, Joao Mario, Goncalo Guedes, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portugal have lost only one of their last 10 World Cup group games, winning five and drawing the other four. However, they will need to be at their best going forward, with Morocco not facing a single shot in the second half of their opening match against Iran.

Fernando Santos' men will go top if they win, but that could all change come 7pm this evening. If they are to be successful they will need to rewrite the record books, with Morocco beating Portugal 3-1 in their only previous encounter back in 1986.

Portugal come into the game on the back of that entertaining 3-3 draw against Spain, while Morocco were beaten 1-0 by Iran last week.

30 mins until KO: Good afternoon and welcome to our live text coverage of the Group B 2018 World Cup match between Portugal and Morocco at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Squads & Team News

Just the one change for Portugal as Joao Mario takes Bruno Fernandes' place on the left of midfield, while Goncalo Guedes continues to be preferred over Andre Silva as Cristiano Ronaldo's strike-partner.

Morocco, however, have changed things up a little, and the major omission is Wolves' Roman Saiss, who has been left on the bench. Nordin Amrabat has been pushed further forward and Amine Harit has also been dropped for full-back Nabil Dirar as Renard opts for a more defensive approach in this game. 

Confirmed Portugal XI:  Rui Patricio; Guerreiro, Fonte, Pepe, Cedric; Mario, Moutinho, Carvalho, B. Silva; Ronaldo, Guedes

Portugal subs: Alves, M. Fernandes, Andre Silva, Lopes, Dias, Pereira, B. Fernandes, Martins, Rui, Quaresma, Beto, Adrien Silva

Confirmed Morocco XI:  Munir; Hakimi, Da Costa, Benatia, Dirar; Boussoufa, El Ahmadi; Ziyech, Belhanda, N. Amrabat; Boutaib

Morocco subs: Bono, Mendyl, Saiss, El Kaabi, Fajr, Ait Bennasser, Harit, En-Nesyri, Bouhaddouz, S. Amrabat, Tagnaouti, Carcela-Gonzalez

TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch

In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).

New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.

In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on TV on BBC One or streamed live online using the iPlayer.