DOHA —
Achraf Hakimi struck the decisive penalty to send Spain crashing out and
Morocco into the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time, winning 3-0 in a
shoot-out on Tuesday after a 0-0 draw.اضافة اعلان
Spain coach Luis
Enrique had claimed his players prepared by taking 1,000 penalties as homework
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 raucous
support.
Walid Regragui’s
side will face Portugal or Switzerland in what is uncharted territory for them,
with their previous best a last-16 exit in 1986.
Spain had been
hoping they could repeat their 2010 World Cup triumph after reaching the
semifinals of Euro 2020, where they were also beaten on penalties by Italy.
The teams were
closely matched through a nail-biting clash, with Spain having more of the ball
but Morocco creating the better openings, few though they were.
Luis Enrique
trialled his third right-back of the tournament in Marcos Llorente, and benched
the team’s top scorer Alvaro Morata for Marco Asensio, after the shock defeat
by Japan.
Spain monopolized
the ball, with Morocco’s fans furiously whistling 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 intensely backed and their fans greatly outnumbered Spain’s.
With La Roja
playing in a pale blue second strip, they resembled the away team on hostile
territory.
Gavi, who at 18
years and 123 days old became the youngest player to start a World Cup knockout
game since Brazil great Pele in 1958, rose to the occasion.
Morocco’s goalkeeper #01 Yassine Bounou (right) Spain’s
goalkeeper #23 Unai Simon talk before penalty shoot-out during the Qatar 2022
World Cup round of 16 football match between Morocco and Spain.
The Barcelona
midfield terrier was at his most intense, smashing into challenges left, right
and center, even diving to make one with his head.
Morocco goalkeeper
Yassine Bounou tipped a Gavi strike on to the crossbar, though it would have
been ruled offside, while Asensio drilled into the side-netting, although Spain
created little.
Regragui’s side
sat deep defensively and threatened on the counter, with Unai Simon beating
away a long range effort from Noussair Mazraoui.
Toothless Spain
Sofiane Boufal, who bypassed Llorente like sand slipping through the
Spaniard’s fingers early on, carved the best chance of the half for Nayef
Aguerd, who headed inches over.
Bounou pummelled
away a Dani Olmo strike from an angle as the tension cranked 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 struggled to supply him as
Morocco sat deeper and deeper.
Another substitute,
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 goal.
Bounou made a fine
save from Olmo’s free-kick as it almost snuck all the way through, with Spain
finally creating stronger chances as the game frayed in the moments before
extra time.
Morocco’s defender #25 Yahya Attiyallah waves his national
flag as he celebrates with supporters winning on penalty shoot-out the Qatar
2022 World Cup round of 16 football match between Morocco and Spain.
Morocco responded
in the additional period by finding stability and testing Simon, who made a
fine save with his legs to deny Walid Cheddira after he broke in down Spain’s
left flank.
Despite heavy
pressure by Spain in the final moments before penalties, they could not trouble
the Sevilla goalkeeper again, with Pablo Sarabia clipping the outside of the
post, although he might have been offside.
Having been sent
on apparently for the shoot-out, Sarabia struck the post again from Spain’s
first penalty, after Abdelhamid Sabiri had sent Morocco ahead.
Soler and Busquets missed, while Hakim Ziyech scored, before Hakimi
netted against his birth country to ignite wild celebrations.
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