Morocco’s Ismael Saibari scored the fastest goal of the FIFA World Cup 2026 to date when he scored in the first 71 seconds of the game, as he helped his side win a tough 1-0 win over Scotland at Gillette Stadium near Boston on Friday.
The 25-year-old midfielder, also scored in their first game against Brazil in Morocco.
Grant Hanley moved to a position that allowed Ismael to regain possession of the ball and shoot past Scotland keeper Angus Gunn.
The match was being watched by 64,146 fans and the early strike was the winning move.
Morocco (currently ranked fifth place in the world) appeared to be the more dangerous team throughout and had numerous chances to increase their advantage.
Bilal El Khannouss had an amazing opportunity in front of him before the break but was not able to properly utilise it and Saibari after the break struck the crossbar.
Gunn also made an excellent save to deny El Khannouss from a corner.
The Scotland team found it hard to put any pressure on Moroccan keeper Yassine Bounou and was only able to find one clear chance.
However, their best moments came from Ryan Christie and Scott McTominay in the second half; but neither could produce an equaliser.
Morocco secured the win and advanced to four points after two games in group C. Morocco is now in a very strong position to qualify for the knockouts.
In the previous World Cup Morocco played the semi-finals.
After the first victory over Haiti, the defeat was a setback for Scotland.
Steve Clarke’s team will now have to come up with a positive result next week in Miami against Brazil.
Also read: FIFA world cup 2026: Switzerland, Qatar share points, Brazil held by Morocco
