Morocco beat Spain on penalties to reach the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in their history on Tuesday after the match finished 0-0. The African side won the shoot-out 3-0 after Spain failed to convert all three of their spot kicks.
Achraf Hakimi struck the decisive penalty to shoot Spain crashing out and Morocco into the World Cup quarter- tests for the first time, winning 3- 0 in a shoot- eschewal on Tuesday after a 0- 0 draw. Spain trainer Luis Enrique had claimed his players prepared by taking,000 penalties as schoolwork but Pablo Sarabia, Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets all missed from the spot and Madrid- born Hakimi dinked his home to the delight of Morocco’s rumbustious
Walid Regragui‘s side will face Portugal or Switzerland in what’s uncharted home for them, with their former stylish a last- 16 exit in 1986.
Spain had been hoping they could repeat their 2010 World Cup triumph after reaching thesemi-finals of Euro 2020, where they were also beaten on penalties by Italy.
The brigades were nearly matched through a nail- smelling clash, with Spain having further of the ball but Morocco creating the better openings, many though they were.
Luis Enrique trialled his third right- reverse of the event in Marcos Llorente, and benched the platoon’s top arranger Alvaro Morata for Marco Asensio, after the shock defeat by Japan.
Spain monopolised the ball, with Morocco’s suckers furiously effervescing with their side out of possession.
Morocco, who are the last African and Arab side left standing at the first World Cup held in an Arab country, were intensively backed and their suckers greatly outnumbered Spain’s.
With La Roja playing in a pale blue alternate strip, they recalled the down platoon on hostile home.
Gavi, who at 18 times and 123 days old came the youthful player to start a World Cup knockout game since Brazil great Pele in 1958, rose to the occasion.
The Barcelona midfield terrier was at his most violent, smashing into challenges left, right and centre, indeed diving to make one with his head.
Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou sloped a Gavi strike on to the bar, though it would have been ruled offside, while Asensio drilled into the side- network, although Spain created little.
Regragui’s side sat deep defensively and hovered on the counter, with Unai Simon beating down a long range trouble from Noussair Mazraoui.
Sofiane Boufal, who bypassed Llorente like beach slipping through the Spaniard’s fritters beforehand on, sculpted the stylish chance of the half for Nayef Aguerd, who headed elevation over.
Bounou pummelled down a Dani Olmo strike from an angle as the pressure twirled up after the break.
Luis Enrique raged at Rodri for choosing the wrong option on the ball, and withdrew the dogged and muddied Gavi for Carlos Soler.
He threw Morata on too, giving Spain a focal point up top, but they plodded to supply him as Morocco sat deeper and deeper.
Another cover, Nico Williams did find the Atletico Madrid striker on one occasion but the angle was too tight and he scraped a shot across the face of thing.
Bounou made a fine save from Olmo’s free- kick as it nearly snuck all the way through, with Spain eventually creating stronger chances as the game rasped in the moments beforeextra-time.
Morocco responded in the fresh period by chancing stability and testing Simon, who made a fine save with his legs to deny Walid Cheddira after he broke by down Spain’s left hand.
Despite heavy pressure by Spain in the final moments before penalties, they couldn’t trouble the Sevilla goalkeeper again, with Pablo Sarabia trimming the outside of the post, although he might have been offside.
Having been Transferred on supposedly for the shoot- eschewal, Sarabia struck the post again from Spain’s first penalty, after Abdelhamid Sabiri had transferred Morocco ahead.
Soler and Busquets missed, while Hakim Ziyech scored, before Hakimi netted against his birth country to enkindle wild fests. Read More FIFA News…
