Morocco has become the Cinderella story of the Qatar 2022 World Cup after eliminating one of the favorites, Spain, in a penalty shootout. The 90 minutes ended in a dull 0-0 draw, and neither team was able to crack open the scoring in the 30 minutes of extra time. "The Atlas Lions" will advance to the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time in their history. Meanwhile, this result is resounding failure for "La Roja."
The first half was controlled by the Spanish national team. La Roja had more possession, as usual, but Morocco's solid defensive tactics hindered Spanish play. The Atlas Lions waited in their own half to steal the ball from Spain and then counterattack. From the outset, it looked as if the African team was aiming for a penalty shootout.
Despite Spain's dominance of the ball, it was the Moroccan team that had more chances. First, Achraf Hakimi with a direct free kick, then Noussair Mazraoui, and finally Nayef Aguerd threatened Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simón with three good shots. Spain's only real chance of the first half came from the boots of Marco Asensio after a great pass from Jordi Alba, but his shot crashed into the side netting.
😥 What a pity!
😓 Asensio didn't see Ferran arriving alone on the right#GolMundial pic.twitter.com/5Dq5GHtOkV
- Gol Mundial (@Gol) December 6, 2022
The second half mirrored the first. Spain continued to control the game but hardly created any chances on goal. Neither did the Moroccan national team.
Right at the start of the second 45 minutes, Unai Simón nearly gifted Morocco a goal after taking a risk with the ball at his feet, but he ended up clearing the ball to his team's relief. Dani Olmo had the best chance for La Roja, but Moroccan goalie Yassine "Bono" Bounou deflected the shot with his fists.
A few seconds before the end of the second half, Dani Olmo again came close to scoring the winning goal for Spain, but Bono made a great save.
The cross from @daniolmo7 was pure poison 💥.
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- Gol Mundial (@Gol) December 6, 2022
Extra time
The 30 minutes of extra time were hardly useful for both teams. Walid Cheddira could have put Morocco ahead with a shot at the end of the first half of extra time, but Unai Simon did well to save it.
Pablo Sarabia had the best chance of the game in the closing stages, but his shot deflected off the post and went just wide of the goal.
Morocco through to the quarterfinals
The true excitement of the match was reserved for the penalty shootout, where the scales tipped to the Moroccan side. Spain was unable to get a single penalty past Bono. For Morocco, it was Spanish-born Achraf Hakimi who scored the decisive penalty that sent his team through to the quarterfinals of the Qatar World Cup.
Cold-bloodedness of Achraf 🥶
😓 #MAR takes the win on penalties and leaves #ESP without World Cup!
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- Gol Mundial (@Gol) December 6, 2022
La Roja failed to score any of their kicks and, once again, are out of the World Cup after losing a penalty shootout. The captain of the Spanish national team, Sergio Busquets, said after the match:
It was a pity, it was decided on penalties in the cruelest way. We tried to wear them down, turn them over, find space... we lacked the last bit of luck on the last pass.
The Atlas Lions pulled off the upset of the tournament so far and have qualified for the quarterfinals of a World Cup for the first time in their history.
