Morocco knock Spain out of World Cup
BI Report || BusinessInsider
Yassine Bounou. Photo: Collected
What a victory for Morocco as they beat Spain in the penalties by 3-0 after the match ended in a goalless draw at the Education City Stadium on Tuesday. They became the fourth African nation and the first 'Arab' country to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
Yassine Bounou turned out as the hero of the match as he denied three Spain players - Pablo Sarabia, Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets when they came up to take penalties in the tie-breaker.
On the other hand, the Atlas Lions found the back of the net three out of four times as Abdelhamid Sabiri, Hakim Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi did not make any mistake to score from the penalty spot.
Earlier, Spain dominated possession in the opening 45 minutes but it was Morocco who looked the more dangerous on the attack. Having the first shot of the match, with Hakimi curling a free-kick over the bar, Noussair Mazraoui forced Unai Simon into a save before Nayef Aguerd had a chance to score from close range.
Latching onto a cross from the left by Sofiane Boufal, the West Ham defender headed the ball wide.
Spain’s only scoring opportunity of the first half came through Marco Asensio, who broke free of the Moroccan defence before slamming the side of the net from a tight angle.
The match went to extra time after the game ended scoreless after 90 minutes. Morocco had the better of the first half, with Aguerd heading their best chance over the bar from close range.
After the restart, it was Spain who controlled the match, with Morocco having just one shot. Dani Olmo had a rasping effort pushed away by Bounou, with Alvaro Morata also heading an effort over after coming on as a substitute.
In the final minute of stoppage time, Olmo almost deceived Bounou with a cross-shot, with the goalkeeper getting low to palm it away.
Morocco were undefeated in their last five games in the World Cup and will now play either Switzerland or Portugal in the quarter-finals. Their defence played a huge part in their success, keeping three clean sheets in four games.
