Morocco qualified for the round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup with a 3-2 win over the Netherlands on penalties after the original and extra time ended in a 1-1 draw on Tuesday morning.
After a thrilling penalty, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made a brilliant save from Crescencio Somerville before Ismael Sibari scored the decisive kick to give Morocco a last-32 clash in Monterrey.
Cody Khakpo gave the Netherlands the lead in the 72nd minute, but Morocco pressed near the end to snatch an equaliser in stoppage time with a header from defender Issa Diop.
Morocco, which is seeking to repeat its achievement in the 2022 finals when it reached the semi-finals, will play Canada in the round of 16 on July 4.
This is the second time that Morocco, which is participating in the World Cup for the seventh time, has been in extra time in the knockout rounds of the World Cup, after meeting Spain in the round of 16 during the last edition, which was held in Qatar in 2022.
The original time ended in a goalless draw between Morocco and Spain at the time, to take control of extra time, which did not succeed in determining the qualifier of the two after the negative tie still existed, and in the end, the penalty kicks were resorted to, which smiled at the "Atlas Lions" team, which made its way to qualify for the semi-finals, to finally get the fourth place in the competition.
Morocco breaks new World Cup record
The Atlas Lions broke an unprecedented record in the history of their previous World Cup appearances, after defender Issa Diop's goal in the Netherlands netting in stoppage time.
With this goal, the Moroccan national team raised its score to 7 goals in the tournament, which is its largest training session in the history of its World Cup participations.
The Moroccan national team scored a goal against Brazil in the first round of the current World Cup, a goal against Scotland and four goals against Haiti, before Issa Diop added the seventh goal against the Dutch mills.
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