Morocco Break Dutch Hearts with Late Fight Back, Victory on Penalties
- Timothy Belin
- Jul 2
- 5 min read
Credit Opta Analyst
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
In probably the most-anticipated game of the Round of 32, a stoppage-time equalizer helped Morocco defeat the Netherlands on penalties.
After a fairly even first 70 minutes, the Dutch took a late lead via Cody Gakpo in the 72nd minute. It looked like it would be enough to see them past their opponent until Issa Diop levelled things in the first minute of stoppage time.
With neither side finding a winner in extra-time, the two teams settled their differences from the penalty spot. Three misses for the Dutch to Morocco’s two ensured the African country’s home cup run remained alive.
While many had pegged this matchup as the must-watch of the Round of 32, it did not originally reflect that label.
With Morocco seventh in the FIFA rankings and the Netherlands just behind them in eighth, neutral fans hoped for a high-flying contest. Instead, the opening half-hour was a tense affair, with more player skirmishes that goalscoring chances. The Netherlands’ Jan Paul van Hecke and Morocco’s Ismael Saibari were the two main culprits, going head to head a couple of times while also riling up other adversaries.
The only real chances in that first 30 minutes fell to Morocco around the 20th minute, forcing two good saves from Dutch shot stopper Bart Verbruggen. The Atlas Lions first tested Verbruggen with a clever corner routine resulting in a near-post header, before Achraf Hakimi unleashed a powerful shot at him from the edge of the box.
The Dutch goalkeeper was alert to both, making an impressive reaction save on the first and diving to divert the second.
The Netherlands’ first attempt on goal came from an unlikely source minutes from the end of the first half. Micky van de Ven, deployed as a left wingback to counter Hakimi down that flank, unleashed a powerful shot from distance that forced Yassine Bounou into a diving save.
Morocco then should have taken the lead in the final minute of first-half stoppage time, but Hakimi’s deep free-kick in the box evaded everybody, including an unmarked Saibari at the back post. The ball was mere millimeters from hitting the forward’s chest and diverting into the back of the net.
The second half saw the game come to life as both teams sought the go-ahead goal.
In the 53rd minute, Hakimi found himself clear on goal after a clever through ball. The Moroccan captain looked destined to open the scoring, but a trademark van de Ven recovery run saw the Dutch defender put in a perfect last-ditch tackle inside his own box.
Morocco threatened again soon after, as another corner nearly made its way towards the net. Once again hit to the front post, Hakimi’s effort nearly went straight in if not for an alert Verbruggen.
Morocco had dominated the second half restart, maintaining close to 80% possession for the first 20 minutes of the period. But as teams came out of the second-half hydration break, it was the Netherlands who took the lead.
Wout Weghorst, just subbed on for Brian Brobbey, delivered a headed through ball for Crysencio Summerville off a Verbruggen goal kick. The speedy winger made it into the box before stumbling, but even as he fell he managed to hit a pass to an onrushing Gakpo. The Dutch winger hit it first time to give the Netherlands the lead, and immediately fell to the ground overcome by emotion.
It was a hard night for Gakpo, whose partner Noa van der Bij announced just two days earlier the tragic loss of their unborn child during pregnancy. Many had questioned why the forward had not left the camp to be with his family and whether he was in the right state of mind to play, and it was visible to everyone what scoring that goal meant to him.
Gakpo fell to his knees moments after the ball hit the net, and his entire team joined him in both celebration and support. As he got back to his feet and returned to the center circle, he pointed to the sky with tears in his eyes as many teammates offered him hugs and support.
For the next 20 minutes, it looked like Gakpo’s goal would be the decider. Morocco had a couple of half-chances, but the Dutch defense stood up to the test. In the 85th minute, they nearly added a second when Denzel Dumfries ran down the right flank, but his cutback was too weak to make it to the unmarked Weghorst.
Six minutes later, it was heartbreak.
As with the Dutch, a substitute made the difference. Chemsdine Talbi, subbed on just four minutes prior, picked up the ball on the left flank. After cutting onto his right foot, he delivered a dangerous cross to the backpost for Diop to head home.
Summerville nearly snatched the advantage back five minutes later, but his run behind the defense ended when Noussair Mazraoui put in a last-ditch recovery tackle in the box. With the sides level at 1-1, the match became the second one of the day to go to extra-time.
Morocco appeared to be the team with momentum in the extra 30 minutes, but neither team seemed willing to risk losing to try and win it. Dutch substitute Teun Koopmeiners made two important clearances in his own box, but it was Verbruggen who had the greatest contribution in the 98th minute.
Saibari found teammate Soufiane Rahimi in space inside the Dutch box, and the forward coolly slalomed past a couple of defenders to find himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. But when he looked certain to score the winning goal, Verbruggen produced a massive save, making himself big to block the shot with a combination of his right hand and foot.
It was the only chance of note of an otherwise cautious extra period, and penalties soon came to separate the teams.
As in regulation, the Netherlands took the lead in the shootout as Koopmeiners buried the opening effort and Neil El Aynaoui saw his own cannon off the bar. Even after Justin Kluivert missed the second Dutch penalty, it briefly looked like Verbruggen was once again the hero by getting to Rahimi’s attempt.
But though the goalkeeper had come out on top in extra-time, a slice of misfortune favored Rahimi in the shootout. His attempt, though saved by Verbruggen, squeezed under the shot stopper and into the back of the net via the goalkeeper's foot.
Quinten Timber missed his team’s fourth penalty wide of the left post, but Hakimi failed to take advantage by smacking that same post on the next spot-kick. The Netherlands’ terrible penalty luck carried over to Summerville’s fifth spot kick, as Bounou remained standing and made a one-handed save to his left.
Saibari stepped up for the deciding fifth Moroccan penalty and sent his team into the Round of 16.
For the Dutch, it was a familiar story. In their last three World Cup appearances, all three of their exits have come from the penalty spot, twice against Argentina and now Morocco. In fact, the Netherlands have gone 23 straight games at the tournament without losing in 90 minutes, dating back to the 2006 Battle of Nuremberg, while their extra-time loss to Spain in the 2010 final is their only defeat from open play in that same time frame.
It was also a familiar story for Morocco, who once again eliminated a European heavyweight via penalties. After doing so against Spain in 2022, last edition’s fourth-place finishers will certainly harbor hope of repeating their impressive run in Qatar.
The next hurdle in doing so for the Atlas Lions will be a Round of 16 matchup with co-hosts Canada on July 4 in Houston.
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