Morocco surprise victory over Spain: Spain knocked Out after epic penalty shoot-out
Morocco stunned Spain on penalties to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup after a 0-0 draw at the Education City Stadium.
Valido Regragio’s men defended spectacularly for 120 minutes, although Spain offered little advantage in the final third, and it was a similar story for the 2010 champions.
Spain did not score a single penalty in the shootout as Pablo Sarabia, Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets missed before Ashraf Hakimi had the audacity to send the Atlas Lions through to the last 16 with Panenko.
Spain coach Luis Enrique made a big gamble to remove Álvaro Morata, who scored three goals in three group games, from the first team, and the decision did not pay off early on.
Indeed, La Roja had just one shot in the first half, which came in the 26th minute when Marco Asensio slotted the ball wide of the net from a tight angle, but the offside flag had to save Iassine Bounou a minute earlier.
The Sevilla goalkeeper didn’t cover with a great possession in the first half, but did brilliantly to deflect Gavi’s shot off the crossbar before the flag was raised.
The Atlas lions were very happy in the last half, although Youssef En-Nesiri was virtually anonymous, and Naief Aguerd headed over the bar from close range in the 42nd minute.
Despite 372 passes and 69% possession, Spain’s attack was non-existent in the first half, although Enrique made no changes at half-time.
La Roja finally got their first shot on goal in the 55th minute when Asensio curled a short free-kick to Dani Olmo, who found Bownow from a tight angle.
Enrique finally saw enough and brought Morata on for Asensio in the 63rd minute, but Spain still had no answers to the questions posed by the trained Moroccan defensive unit.
The introduction of Nick Williams injected some much-needed pace for Spain, but Enrique’s side failed to create any reasonable chances in the dying heat of regulation, other than Olm’s 95th-minute free-kick that eluded everyone before Bownow caught them. .
The Moroccan rearguard fell behind in the first half of extra time, but continued to defend valiantly and had a chance to take the lead in the 104th minute, but Walid Chedira fired straight at Simon from close range.
Substitute Sarabi came within inches of putting Spain into fourth with the final shot of the game, but his volley at the far post hit the far side of the crossbar as penalties approached.
History repeated itself for Sarabia, teased by the stunning Williams only in the penalty shootout when he hit the post on Spain’s first penalty before Hakim Ziyek fired from the middle to put Morocco 2-0 up.
Sarabia’s Paris Saint-Germain teammate Soler was next from 12 yards out but Bouna stopped him with his tame effort, although Badr Bennoun’s shot was also saved by Unai Simon.
La Roja’s delay didn’t last long, however, as Bounou dove to the right to avoid Busquets’ shot before Hakimi’s delicate touch of the net sent the roaring Moroccan crowd into a frenzy.
Regrahi’s side will now face the winner of Portugal’s final against Switzerland in the quarter-finals at Al Tumama Stadium on Saturday.
Lineups:
Morocco Replacement: 24 B. Benoun, 18 J. El Yamiq, 13 I. Chair, 11 A. Sabiri, 20 A. Dari, 14 Z. Aboukhlal, 16 A. Ezzalzouli, 26 Y. Jabrane, 25 Y. Attiat-Allah, 22 A. Tagnaouti, 21 W. Cheddira, 12 M. Mohamedi, 9 A. Hamdallah, 10 A. Zaroury, 23 B. El Khannouss
Spain Replacements: 14 Alejandro Balde, 2 César Azpilicueta, 3 Eric García, 4 Pau Torres, 15 Hugo Guillamón, 22 Pablo Sarabia, 1 Robert Sánchez, 17 Yeremy Pino, 19 Carlos Soler, 7 Álvaro Morata, 12 Nico Williams, 25 Ansu Fati, 13 David Raya, 20 Dani Carvajal, 8 Koke
Scorers:
Spain (0)
Yellow Cards:
Romain Saiss
