GUADALUPE, Mexico (AP) — Ismael Saibari scored the decisive goal in a penalty shootout, and Morocco sent the Netherlands to its earliest World Cup exit, eliminating the Dutch 3-2 after a 1-1 draw on Monday night.
With the shootout tied at 2-all after four rounds, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made a strong save of Crysencio Summerville's attempt, batting it away with his left hand. Saibari then sent the winner into the low left corner as goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen went the other direction. The midfielder tore off his shirt and screamed with joy as he was mobbed by teammates.
Earlier in the shootout with Morocco trailing 1-0, Verbruggen appeared to have stopped an attempt by Soufiane Rahimi, but the goalkeeper couldn’t secure the ball and deflected it over the line with the back of his leg.
“We know when we do everything on the pitch, it’s God that gives something back to us as well,” Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi said. “We give all the energy that we have on the field. Rahimi’s goal could have not been a goal, but it went in thankfully.”
The Netherlands had reached at least the Round of 16 in 11 previous World Cups, including a quarterfinal appearance four years ago in Qatar, when Morocco made a breakthrough run to become the first team from Africa to reach the semifinals. In this year's expanded tournament, 32 teams reached the knockout stage for the first time.
Morocco moves on to face co-host Canada in the Round of 16 on Saturday in Houston. The Atlas Lions previously beat Canada 2-1 in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup.
Morocco was on the front-foot for major stretches of the game Monday. The Netherlands instead focused on counterattacking.
“I think Morocco has gained everybody’s respect now,” said Ouahbi, who took over as head coach in March. “I saw (the Netherlands’ style of play) as a form of respect.”
Cody Gakpo scored in the 72nd minute for Netherlands. After the goal, which was assisted by Summerville, the Dutch bench ran onto the field to embrace the 27-year-old Gakpo, who broke down in tears. Gakpo and his partner, Noa van der Bij, recently announced that they lost their unborn child.
Morocco’s Issa Diop tied it in the 91st. Chemsdine Talbi sent a looping cross into the box from about 28 yards out on the left side and connected with Diop for a clean header that Verbruggen had no chance to stop.
Neither team had a strong scoring opportunity in 30 minutes of extra time at Estadio BBVA.
In the second half of extra time, Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman used one of his substitutions to bring on Justin Kluivert. Kluivert was one of three Dutch players to miss his penalty.
“The last substitution I made was to bring in Justin (Kluivert) because he’s one of the best at penalty shootouts,” Koeman said. “But he missed his penalty and that’s even more bitter for him and for us.”
It was the third consecutive time the Netherlands has been eliminated from the World Cup in a penalty shootout.
It was the second game of this tournament to conclude with a shootout. Paraguay beat Germany on penalties earlier Monday.
The teams entered with the highest combined ranking of any Round of 32 match. Morocco was sixth in the world and the Netherlands was seventh.
“We need to be telling ourselves that no one can stop us,” Ouahbi said. “Nobody is unbeatable. If we get things wrong, we’ll go home.”
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Ethan Wilcox is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
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