The Moroccan football team reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time in history on Tuesday, stopping one of the favorites Spain in the round of 16.
The regular time ended in a goalless draw 0:0 (0:0) and no goals were scored in the 30 minutes of extra time, so the winner of the match was determined in the post-match penalty shootout, in which the Moroccans won 3:0.
Two 11-meter kicks by Spanish players were saved by Yasine Bunū.
Later, in the duel between Portugal and Switzerland, the last quarter-finalist of this World Cup final tournament will be determined.
In the 12th minute of the game, Ahraf Hakimi, a Moroccan born in Spain, took a penalty kick, but the ball he hit flew slightly over the goal. In the next ten minutes, the Spaniards hit the post, but at the end of a dangerous attack they found themselves at the back.
In the second half of the half, in the 32nd minute, Nusairs Mazrauī made a long shot on the goal of the Spanish national team, but the opponent’s goalkeeper Unai Simons was up to the task.
Although the Spaniards controlled the ball twice as much, the more dangerous attacks went to the Moroccan footballers.
In the second half, Dani Olmo had a powerful shot at the Moroccan goal after ten minutes of the penalty kick, but Yasine Bunoo caught the ball.
Midway through the half, Spain looked to freshen up the game by sending on Alvaro Morata and Carlos Soler. The Spaniards continued to control the field, but despite the fact that the opponents were visibly tired, they could not aggravate the situation in front of the Moroccan team’s goal.
Eight minutes before the end of regular time, the Moroccan national team made a triple change of players and in the final minutes aggravated the situation several times in the opponent’s penalty area.
In the second minute of stoppage time, Simons made a blunder near his own goal, but at the last moment he also prevented the Moroccans from hitting the goal. In the final seconds, after a Spanish cross, Bunoo played perfectly in the goal of the Moroccan national team.
In the 14th minute of the extra time, the Moroccan national team was close to scoring a goal, but Simons saved a close-range shot by Walid Shedir with his foot. In the second half of extra time, Shedira missed another dangerous moment as the Moroccan hesitated to shoot after going off.
In the last seconds of extra time compensation time, after a cross in the penalty area, Pavlo Saravia executed a shot from an acute angle, the ball hitting the post. The added half hour ended without a goal and a series of penalty kicks followed.
Abdelhamid Sabiri made the first “eleven”, while Pavlo Saravia hit the goal post in his run, which allowed the Moroccans to reach 2-0 after Akim Ziyesh’s accurate shot. In the continuation, Carlos Soler went to the penalty spot, whose shot was neutralized by Yasine Bunu.
In the third round, Badr Banun missed the chance to make it 3-0, this time Simon saved the Spaniards. True, the Spaniards were also inaccurate, as Sergio Busquets’ shot was neutralized by Bunu. On the other hand, Ahraf Hakimi was flawless and brought his team a victory – 3:0.
On Tuesday, at the age of 18 years and 123 days, Gavi, the midfielder of the Spanish national team, became the youngest player in the history of the World Cup elimination tournament since the 1958 final, when Pele, who was 17 years and 249 days old at the time, was included in the starting eleven.
32 teams are divided into eight groups of four national teams each. The two best teams from each group made it to the round of 16 and will continue the fight for football’s most prestigious trophy.
Qatar is the first Arab country to host the FIFA World Cup. So far, one championship has been held in Asia, and it was jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan in 2002.
This is also the first tournament to be held in late autumn, rather than the usual summer months due to the extreme heat in Qatar.
This is the last tournament in which 32 teams participate, as from the next World Cup in 2026, 48 national teams will start the competition.
In the final tournament of the 2018 World Cup, which was held in Russia, France became the champion, beating Croatia 4:2 in the decisive match.
Morocco national team: Yasine Bunû; Ahraf Hakimi, Nusair Mazraui (Yahya Atiyat Allah, 82 min.), Najef Agerd (Jawad El Yamig, 84 min.), Romain Saiss; Sofjan Amrabat, Azedin Unai (Badr Banun, 120 min.), Selim Amalakh (Valid Shedira, 82 min.); Akim Ziyesh, Yusef En-Nesiri (Abdelhamids Sabiri, 82nd min.), Sofijans Bufals (Abde Ezalzuli, 66th min.).
Spain national team: Unai Simons; Marcos Llorente, Rodri, Homeric Laporte, Hordi Alba (Alejandro Balde, 98 min.); Sergio Busquets, Gavi (Carlos Soler, 63 min.), Pedri; Ferran Torres (Nico Williams, 75 min. (Pavlo Saravia, 118 min.), Marco Asensio (Alvaro Morata, 63 min.), Dani Olmo (Ansu Fati, 98 min.).
