Morocco sealed their qualification from the Netherlands in an exciting 1-1 tie after extra time with a penalty shootout in Monterrey on Monday. The result of the penalty shootout was 3-2
The game ended in penalties after both teams failed to score the game-winning goal in the regular game or in the extra 30 minutes of overtime.
Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was the hero in this instance, foiling the Netherlands’ fourth penalty, struck by Crysencio Summerville.
Morocco’s next penalty was then taken in the calm hands of Ismael Saibari, who put the Atlas Lions into the next round in Canada on Saturday with a calm kick.
It seemed the Netherlands had the lead after half-time when Cody Gakpo scored for them in the middle of the second half.
Gakpo was visibly emotional after kicking the goal, and received his teammates’ support after his personal tragedy of losing his unborn child.
Read more: FIFA WC fever continues as four key fixtures take center stage on Saturday
But Morocco was not going to back down. Issa Diop levelled the scores at 1-1 in stoppage time, after a cross from defender Chemsdine Talbi. The game was then forced to go into extra time.
Morocco had gotten a number of good opportunities during the game but were consistently denied, with Bart Verbruggen, the Dutch goalkeeper making a number of great saves to keep his side in the contest.
The Netherlands also threatened on several occasions with Bounou making key stops at the other end.
The extra time saw more activity but no goals and as a result, it was decided to settle the match by a penalty shootout.
Morocco missed their first penalty, but they bounced back with a brilliant recovery whilst Bounou’s great save gave Saibari the opportunity to shoot away the winning kick and secure a memorable win.
