Morocco continued its impressive performance at this World Cup, taking all three points in their game against Belgium. Paired with their draw against Croatia, the Moroccans have accumulated four points through two games, setting up a strong possibility that they will advance to the round of 16.
Belgium created some threatening chances early. In the 5th minute, the Belgians nearly took advantage of a defensive breakdown when Eden Hazard found Michy Batshuayi, but they were unable to convert. Minutes later, the Belgians drew two fouls on either edge of the Moroccan box, but both chances only resulted in a corner. Belgium had a similar opportunity in the 39th minute, but again the ball was deflected out for a corner.
Morocco's defense remained staunch as it was against Croatia. In the first half, they had very few opportunities. It took them 20 minutes to really test the opposing goal, and Belgian goalie Thibaut Courtois did not even need to intervene. Shortly after, however, Moroccan striker Fulanito was able to put Courtois to his first true test. With 10 minutes to go in the first half, a quick breakaway by Morocco again created danger, but again they were unable to convert.
Near the end of the first half, Thorgan Hazard fouled near the corner of the Belgian box, giving Morocco a favorable free kick. Haim Ziyech shot a low, curving ball that inched just over the head of his teammate Romain Saiss and snuck into the corner of the goal. However, when subjected to VAR (video assistant referee) review, Saiss was clearly offside. The referee blew the whistle, and the two teams headed to the locker room tied 0-0.
Part Two
In the second half, Belgium again applied early pressure to the Moroccan defense. Eden Hazard (who was substituted in the 59th minute) had a shot deflected out by Munir Mohamedi, the Moroccan goalkeeper starting in place of Yassine "Bono" Bounou, who was a late scratch due to vertigo-like symptoms.
Morocco's Sofiane Soufal put the ball just wide of the Belgian goal on a counterattack. In the final third of the game, Morocco was able to hold substantial possession in Belgian territory. They finally took advantage with an Abdelhamid Sabiri free kick from the left flank. His ball put Courtois in an awkward position, and Saiss's presence also helped to distract the Belgian keeper just enough for the ball to sneak in under his diving body.
Second goal
For Belgium, Eden Hazard's absence was barely noticed after he was subbed off, as he did not leave much of an impact on the game when he was playing. It wasn't star Kevin de Bruyne’s day either. As Belgium scrambled to equalize late in the game, Haim Ziyech stole the ball and went down into the Belgian box with just two minutes to go. He sent crafty pass back to Zakaria Aboukhlal, who was able to capitalize and put the game out of reach, giving Morocco its first World Cup victory in 24 years.
The Belgian team received constant boos from the crowd, not due to their poor play, but instead because of the overwhelming support in the stands for Morocco.
As mentioned earlier, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine "Bono" Bounou, who plays for Spanish club Sevilla, was a late scratch. He came out onto the field and sang the national anthem with his team, but when the whistle blew to start the game, it was Munir Mohamedi instead in goal. Bono reportedly experienced symptoms of vertigo before the match and ultimately decided not to play.
