DOHA, Qatar — These really are pinch-yourself times for Morocco: A first-ever spot in the quarterfinals of a World Cup — the first to take place in the Arab world, no less — and now a meeting with Portugal and its superstar striker, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Well, maybe.

Because Ronaldo has again managed to steal the spotlight in his inimitable way, even bumping Morocco’s historic run to the last eight off the top of the agenda before Saturday’s narrative-laden match.

Will he start, or won’t he? That’s the big question being asked about Ronaldo after he was dropped by Portugal coach Fernando Santos for the 6-1 win over Switzerland in the round of 16 on Tuesday. Not only was the five-time world player of the year relegated to the bench, his replacement — 21-year-old Gonçalo Ramos — scored a hat trick to leave Santos with quite the selection dilemma against Morocco.

“I hope he won’t (play),” Morocco coach Walid Regragui said Friday. “As a coach I know he’s one of the best players in history and so I’d be delighted if he didn’t play.”

The announcement of Portugal’s team about 90 minutes before the game at Al Thumama Stadium is keenly awaited as Ronaldo prepares to play in the quarterfinals of the World Cup for just the second time in his glittering career.

Santos declined to share selection thoughts Friday for what he said would be a different kind of game to the one against Switzerland, while noting that “90% of the questions” are about Ronaldo at Portugal’s pregame news conferences. One inevitable question Santos faced was about reports in national media that Ronaldo threatened to leave the World Cup after being told he was benched. Not true, the coach said.

“He has never told me that he wanted to leave the national team,” Santos said through an interpreter. “Cristiano obviously wasn’t very happy about it. He told me ‘Do you really think it’s a good idea?’”

Portugal is at this stage for only the third time after 1966 and 2006, perhaps surprising given the talent to have come from the country down the years. Four years ago, Portugal lost in the round of 16 to Uruguay, though a group-stage game against Morocco was “possibly the most difficult match” the team faced, Santos said Friday.

“We won 1-0 but we had to suffer a lot to win that match,” he said. “My players know that.”

As for Morocco, the nation is in uncharted territory after becoming only the fourth African country to reach the quarterfinals at soccer’s biggest tournament, after Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010). None of them reached the semifinals.

Morocco is also the only team from outside Europe or South America to make it to the last eight in Qatar.

The team’s penalty-shootout victory over Spain in the last 16 sparked wild celebrations not just among its many fans in Qatar and at home. The excitement extended to the Moroccan diaspora of around 5 million people spread mostly around Europe, which has united behind the World Cup run of the team nicknamed the “Atlas Lions.”

Morocco fans poured into the streets of European cities to celebrate the team’s passage to the quarterfinals, which came after Morocco advanced from a group containing second-ranked Belgium and 2018 runner-up Croatia.

“We haven’t got carried away by the euphoria,” Regragui said. “We’ve just surprised a few people and surprised a few algorithms who expected Belgium to get through.”

England out to stop World Cup’s ‘irresistible force’ Mbappé: England’s players have been asked one question on repeat as they prepare to face France in the World Cup quarterfinals Saturday. How do you stop Kylian Mbappé?

Hardly surprising, given Mbappé is the tournament’s leading scorer with five goals and is considered the man to succeed Lionel Messi and Ronaldo as soccer’s biggest star.

“I’m sure England will have prepared to face Kylian,” France coach Didier Deschamps said at a news conference Friday. “But Kylian is in the position to make a difference.

“Kylian is Kylian and he always will be.”

There is no sense of France trying manage expectations of its star player, even as the hype surrounding him grows with each stellar performance in Qatar.

He has already scored one more goal than the four he managed as his country won the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

“He cannot be compared to other players,” said teammate Dayot Upamecano.

“We all believe in Kylian,” added Youssouf Fofana.

Mbappé is being depicted as an unstoppable force in Qatar — something England defender Kyle Walker pushed back against this week.

“I don’t know how to say it even more: I feel he is a top player. I’m not underestimating that one bit, but we are not playing tennis, it’s not a solo sport,” he said after being faced with a series of questions about the Paris Saint-Germain striker.