Last Updated on 12/07/2022 by てんしょく飯
On December 6 (local time), Morocco faced Spain in the first round of the Qatar World Cup finals.
The African heroes took a big bite out of the competition.
After a scoreless 120 minutes, Morocco won the penalty shootout 3-0, a dramatic victory and a huge upset.
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Morocco topped Group F, which was shared with Belgium and Croatia. Morocco’s momentum was not a fluke. On this day, Morocco was held in possession by Spain, who finished second in Group E, but they maintained a compact formation and fought back with spirited play, willing to engage in fierce battles at the edge of the ball. They kept their stronghold until the very end.
Morocco surpassed their previous best result of 16th place in the 1986 Mexico tournament, and reached the top eight for the first time in their history. The tournament came amidst some not-so-subtle turmoil, such as the dismissal of former Japan national team coach Vahid Halilhodzic, who led the team through the qualifying rounds in August of this year, and the international media could not hide their surprise at the literally historic leap forward.
Pat Nevin, a former Scottish international who commentated for the BBC, said, “It must have been a nightmare for Spain. Pat Nevin, a former Scotland international who commentated for the BBC, said, “It would be a nightmare for Spain,” and praised Morocco’s elite team for winning a tough match.
I can’t say that Morocco doesn’t deserve to be in the top eight,” Nevin said. The spirit, the fighting spirit, and above all, the grit, are at a world-class level. What a historic moment.
On the other hand, opinions were harsh on Spain, which suffered defeat despite recording an overwhelming 76.8% possession rate. Ben Grounds of Sky Sports pointed out that Spain’s record in penalty shootouts in major international tournaments, including the EURO, was “extremely poor” (2 wins and 5 losses). Citing the previous day’s match between Japan and Croatia, he said, “The 2010 World Cup champions are perfect.
The 2010 World Cup champions were completely outplayed. They lost in the most brutal penalty shootout ever. They were the most brutal penalty shootout ever. They were worse than Japan’s penalty shootout against Croatia. It was a tragedy for Spain.
Morocco, after all, had sunk an “invincible armada” in Doha. Can the “Lions of the Atlas” (the nickname of the Moroccan national team), who have been taking on many powerful nations, reach even greater heights? In the quarterfinals on December 10 (local time), Morocco will face the winner of the match between Portugal and Switzerland.
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