Morocco ousts Netherlands in enthralling World Cup shootout

Morocco defeated the Netherlands 3-2 on penalties to reach the last 16 at this summer’s World Cup.

The Atlas Lions will now take on Canada on July 4. The two teams met in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, where Morocco claimed a 2-1 win.

The reigning African champion was seconds away from being eliminated Monday in Monterrey.

The Dutch appeared to be closing in on the knockout victory after Cody Gakpo’s slick goal in the 72nd minute, but Issa Diop was the unlikely savior for Mohamed Ouahbi’s side, rising over Virgil van Dijk to power home a pinpoint header in the 91st minute for his first international goal.

Neither team could break the 1-1 deadlock in extra time, sending the contest to penalties.

Only five of the 10 players who stepped up to the spot converted their attempts, but Ismael Saibari’s effort sealed the deal for Morocco after Yassine Bounou had denied Crysencio Summerville with a strong left-handed save.

Multiple players either hit the post or missed the target in the shootout. Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen looked to have saved Soufiane Rahimi’s penalty, but the ball bounced off his hands, squirmed under his body, and ricocheted off his foot before just crossing the line.

“We know when we do everything on the pitch, it’s God that gives something back to us as well,” Ouahbi said, according to Ethan Wilcox of The Associated Press. “We give all the energy that we have on the field. Rahimi’s goal could have not been a goal, but it went in thankfully.”

It was the second World Cup match of the day to require penalties after Paraguay stunned Germany on spot-kicks earlier Monday in another chaotic shootout that featured multiple misses.

This shootout ebbed and flowed in a similar way until Saibari, one of Morocco’s standout players at the tournament thus far, kept his nerve to send the pro-Moroccan crowd in Mexico into a frenzy.

The 25-year-old has played his club football in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven since 2020.

The loss, meanwhile, signals the earliest-ever exit for the Netherlands at the tournament. The Oranje had reached at least the round of 16 in every World Cup in which they’d qualified prior to this one.

“The last substitution I made was to bring in Justin (Kluivert) because he’s one of the best at penalty shootouts,” Dutch manager Ronald Koeman said. “But he missed his penalty and that’s even more bitter for him and for us.”

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