Morocco booked their place in the Round of 16 of the World Cup after edging the Netherlands 3-2 in a penalty shootout following a dramatic 1-1 draw after extra time in Monterrey on Monday.
Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou emerged as Morocco’s hero, producing the decisive save to deny Crysencio Summerville from the spot before Ismael Saibari converted the winning penalty to send the Atlas Lions through.
The knockout clash had appeared to be heading in the Netherlands’ favour after Cody Gakpo gave the Dutch the lead midway through the second half. Gakpo, who was playing just days after his partner confirmed the loss of their unborn child, celebrated emotionally with teammates after finding the net.
Morocco, however, refused to give up and forced extra time in the first minute of stoppage time when Issa Diop rose unmarked to head home Chemsdine Talbi’s cross.
The North Africans had created the better opportunities throughout a fiercely contested encounter. They nearly opened the scoring in the 20th minute when Neil El Aynaoui’s header from an Achraf Hakimi corner was brilliantly kept out by Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
Verbruggen was called into action again moments later, tipping Hakimi’s powerful strike over the crossbar to keep the scores level.
The game was packed with physical challenges, with Saibari fortunate to avoid punishment after catching Jan Paul van Hecke with an elbow during the first half.
The Netherlands threatened just before the interval when Micky van de Ven unleashed a powerful effort from outside the box, but Bounou reacted quickly to push the shot over the bar.
After the restart, Dutch coach Ronald Koeman introduced Wout Weghorst, whose impact was immediate. The striker flicked on a long ball to Summerville, who squared for Gakpo to dive in and score what looked set to be the winning goal.
Morocco had other ideas. Diop’s dramatic injury-time equaliser ensured the match went into extra time, where Soufiane Rahimi came close to winning it in the 96th minute only for Verbruggen to produce another outstanding save.
With neither side able to find another goal, the contest went to penalties. Although Neil El Aynaoui struck the crossbar with Morocco’s opening kick, Bounou’s decisive save from Summerville and Saibari’s composed finish sealed a memorable 3-2 shootout victory and a place in the last 16.
