Morocco beat the Netherlands 3-2 on penalties to reach the World Cup round of 16 after their pre-quarterfinal clash finished 1-1 following extra time. The match was played in Monterrey.
First Half: Chance After Chance, But No Breakthrough
The opening minutes were littered with free kicks and fouls at both ends. In the 6th minute, Bilal El Khannouss won a free kick in his own defensive half. Soon after, Denzel Dumfries also picked up a free kick in his own half, while a foul on Ismael Saibari cost Morocco possession. In the 10th minute, Brian Brobbey earned a free kick in his defensive half, and Morocco lost out again after a foul was called on Issa Diop. By the 13th minute, Chadi Riad had a free kick in his own half, while Brian Brobbey was penalised for a foul at the other end. Crysencio Summerville was then caught offside in the 15th minute.
Morocco won another corner in the 18th minute, given away by Micky van de Ven. From that corner, Ayoub Bouaddi, set up by Azzedine Ounahi, drove a right-footed effort from outside the box that sailed over the bar. Moments later, off an Achraf Hakimi cross, Nayef El Aynaoui headed goalwards from inside the six-yard box, but goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen tipped it over the top of the goal. Morocco earned another corner in the 20th minute off Bart Verbruggen, and from the resulting move, set up by Ismael Saibari, Achraf Hakimi struck a right-footed shot from the right side of the box that Verbruggen pushed away into the top-right corner.
Play was paused for a drinks break in the 21st minute and resumed in the 24th. In the 26th minute, a foul on Azzedine Ounahi handed Jan Paul van Hecke a free kick in his own half. In the 28th minute, Frenkie de Jong won a free kick on the left wing after a foul on Ismael Saibari. Crysencio Summerville then won a free kick in his own defensive half in the 30th minute, while Ismael Saibari was penalised for a foul. Denzel Dumfries was flagged offside in the 32nd minute, halting a Dutch attack.
The Netherlands won a corner in the 35th minute after the ball went out off Noussair Mazraoui. From Summerville's cross in the ensuing move, Denzel Dumfries headed at goal from the centre of the box but saw his attempt blocked. Noussair Mazraoui then conceded another corner to the Dutch. Play was stopped in the 37th minute after Jan Paul van Hecke picked up an injury, resuming two minutes later in the 39th. In the 40th minute, Ayoub Bouaddi won a free kick in Morocco's defensive half after Cody Gakpo was penalised for a foul.
In the 43rd minute, a Netherlands corner arrived off goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, and Micky van de Ven, teed up by Summerville, thumped a left-footed effort from outside the box that flew just over the crossbar. Brian Brobbey was penalised for a foul in the 44th minute, allowing Yassine Bounou to win Morocco a free kick in their own half. Six minutes of stoppage time were signalled by the fourth official at the end of the first half. In that added time, Azzedine Ounahi, played through by a quick Nayef El Aynaoui pass, shot from the right side of the box with his right foot, the ball whistling just wide of the top-left corner. Just before the interval, Achraf Hakimi won a free kick on the right wing after Micky van de Ven's foul. The first half ended goalless at 0-0.
Second Half: Gakpo's Strike and Morocco's Fightback
The second half opened with Issa Diop shown a yellow card for a dangerous foul, shortly after he had himself been fouled, which had given Brian Brobbey a free kick in the Dutch attacking half. In the 47th minute, off a headed pass from Jan Paul van Hecke, Micky van de Ven headed at goal from the centre of the box, but goalkeeper Yassine Bounou produced a fine save over the crossbar. Soon after, set up by Achraf Hakimi, Ayoub Bouaddi fired a left-footed shot from outside the box that flew wide of the left post.
Morocco came desperately close in the 51st minute when, played in by a defence-splitting Azzedine Ounahi through-ball, Achraf Hakimi struck a tight-angle right-footed shot that cannoned off the crossbar. In the 52nd minute, Ayoub Bouaddi won Morocco a free kick in their own half after a foul by Micky van de Ven. In the 55th minute, another Ounahi through-ball found Achraf Hakimi, whose right-footed shot from the centre of the box was blocked, while Brian Brobbey was caught offside.
In the 57th minute, Bilal El Khannouss struck a right-footed shot from outside the box that goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen kept out with a dive to his bottom-right corner. Ryan Gravenberch's left-footed shot from outside the box was blocked in the 58th minute, while Ismael Saibari won Morocco a free kick in their own half after a foul by Jan Paul van Hecke. Morocco then piled on the corners in the 60th minute, one off Virgil van Dijk, another after a mistake by goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, a third off a Frenkie de Jong error, and a fourth conceded by Denzel Dumfries, as Morocco kept up sustained pressure through this passage of play.
In the 64th minute, a foul on Nayef El Aynaoui gave Ryan Gravenberch a free kick in his own half. Play paused for a drinks break in the 66th minute. The Netherlands made their first change in the 70th minute, sending on Teun Koopmeiners for Nathan Ake. Moments later, in the 71st minute, Cody Gakpo latched onto a Crysencio Summerville assist and drilled a right-footed shot from the centre of the box into the net, putting the Netherlands 1-0 up. Around the same time, the Dutch made a second, attacking change, bringing on Wout Weghorst for Brian Brobbey.
In the 74th minute, Azzedine Ounahi won a free kick in the opposition half, while Frenkie de Jong was also penalised for a foul. Morocco were then forced into a change of their own after Chadi Riad picked up an injury, with Anass Salah-Eddine sent on in his place. In the 76th minute, Achraf Hakimi was fouled on the right wing to win a free kick, while Teun Koopmeiners was penalised at the other end. In the 77th minute, Anass Salah-Eddine tried his luck with a left-footed shot from outside the box, but it was blocked. Morocco won a corner soon after off a mistake by Jan Paul van Hecke.
Morocco made another change in the 78th minute, with Yassine Gessime replacing Brahim Diaz, and followed it with a further substitution, sending on Sami Al Mouraabet for Ayoub Bouaddi. Play was halted in the 79th minute after Ryan Gravenberch suffered an injury, resuming in the 80th. In the 83rd minute, a handball by Crysencio Summerville gave Morocco a free kick. In the 84th minute, a foul on Ismael Saibari gave the Netherlands a free kick, while Virgil van Dijk also won a free kick in his own half.
The Netherlands made a double change in the 85th minute, Jorrel Hato replacing Micky van de Ven and Quinten Timber coming on for Ryan Gravenberch. In the same minute, Morocco also made two substitutions, Sofiane Rahimi coming on for Azzedine Ounahi and Chemsdine Tallbi replacing Bilal El Khannouss. The Netherlands won a corner in the 87th minute off Issa Diop. Six minutes of stoppage time were announced by the fourth official at the end of regulation time.
In that added time, in the 90th minute, Issa Diop rose to meet a Chemsdine Tallbi cross and thumped a header into the top-right corner to level the match at 1-1 for Morocco. Quinten Timber then won a free kick on the right wing after a foul by Nayef El Aynaoui. Anass Salah-Eddine won a free kick in his own half soon after, while Denzel Dumfries was penalised for a foul once again. Finally, a foul on Ismael Saibari gave Frenkie de Jong a free kick in his own half. The second half of regulation time ended locked at 1-1, sending the match into extra time.
Extra Time: Neither Side Could Find a Winner
The first half of extra time began with the score still at 1-1. Wout Weghorst won a free kick on the right wing after a foul by Nayef El Aynaoui. Denzel Dumfries then conceded a free kick for handball, before Frenkie de Jong's foul gave Sofiane Rahimi a free kick in his own half. Morocco won a corner in the 96th minute off Bart Verbruggen. Frenkie de Jong soon after won a free kick in his own half, while Anass Salah-Eddine was penalised for a foul. In the same passage, Ismael Saibari's through-ball found Sofiane Rahimi, who struck a powerful right-footed effort from the centre of the box, but goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen dived to his bottom-left corner to keep it out.
Wout Weghorst was penalised for handball in the 101st minute. In the 104th minute, Quinten Timber won a free kick in his own half after a foul by Nayef El Aynaoui. The fourth official confirmed no added time would be played at this stage, and the first half of extra time ended with the scoreline unchanged at 1-1.
The second half of extra time also began at 1-1. Yassine Gessime won a free kick in his own half after a foul by Cody Gakpo. In the 109th minute, Wout Weghorst won a free kick on the right wing, while Anass Salah-Eddine was penalised for a foul. The Netherlands made another substitution around this point, sending on Marten de Roon for Frenkie de Jong. In the 111th minute, a foul was called on Nayef El Aynaoui, while Cody Gakpo won a free kick in the opposition half. Soon after, the Netherlands substituted off goal scorer Cody Gakpo, bringing on Justin Kluivert in his place.
In the 113th minute, Sofiane Rahimi won a free kick on the left wing after a foul by Denzel Dumfries. Play was stopped in the 115th minute after Crysencio Summerville was injured, before resuming shortly after. Chemsdine Tallbi then won a free kick on the left wing following a foul by Denzel Dumfries. At the end of the match, the fourth official announced one minute of injury time in the second half of extra time. That second half of extra time also finished level at 1-1, sending the contest to a penalty shootout.
Penalty Shootout: Morocco's Dramatic Triumph
The Netherlands' Teun Koopmeiners stepped up first and slotted his left-footed penalty into the bottom-right corner to put his side 1-0 up in the shootout. Morocco's Nayef El Aynaoui responded with a right-footed effort that struck the crossbar and went over, Morocco's first miss. The Netherlands' Justin Kluivert then also missed, his right-footed shot cannoning off the left post and away, offering Morocco a reprieve.
Morocco's Sofiane Rahimi levelled the shootout at 1-1 with a right-footed penalty into the bottom-left corner. Wout Weghorst restored the Netherlands' lead, sending his right-footed effort into the top-left corner to make it 2-1. Morocco's Chemsdine Tallbi replied in kind, driving his right-footed penalty into the top-right corner to level the shootout at 2-2.
The Netherlands' Quinten Timber then saw his right-footed spot kick drift off target. Morocco's Achraf Hakimi also missed with his right-footed penalty, which struck the left post and went out, leaving the shootout tied at 2-2. Crysencio Summerville stepped up for the Netherlands but saw his right-footed penalty saved, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou diving superbly to keep it out in the top-left corner.
Morocco's Ismael Saibari then stepped up and slotted his right-footed penalty into the bottom-left corner to put Morocco 3-2 up in the shootout. That proved decisive, sealing victory for Morocco. The final score read Netherlands 1(2), Morocco 1(3), as the Atlas Lions advanced to the next round with a memorable win.
Achraf Hakimi's night swung between heartbreak and near-glory, his goal-bound effort had cannoned off the crossbar in normal time, and in the shootout his spot kick struck the left post and stayed out. For Issa Diop, the match carried its own twist, having been shown a yellow card early in the second half, he was the one who rescued Morocco with his 90th-minute header. Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was central to Morocco's cause throughout, keeping out efforts from Hakimi and Khannouss during normal time before diving to deny Summerville's penalty in the shootout.
Round of 16: Canada Await Morocco Next
Having eliminated the Netherlands, Morocco will next face Canada in the round of 16, with the match set to be played on July 4 at 10:30 pm. In an enthralling contest played in Monterrey, Morocco beat the Netherlands in a penalty shootout to confirm their place in the World Cup's last 16.
