Morocco's Ismael Saibari celebrates his winning penalty kick against the Netherlands at the World Cup in Monterrey, Mexico, on Monday.Carl Recine/Getty Images
Morocco beat the Netherlands 3-2 on penalties on Monday to reach the World Cup round of 16 after their first knockout match ended 1-1 following extra time, setting up a meeting with co-hosts Canada.
Ismael Saibari converted the winning spot kick after Yassine Bounou saved Crysencio Summerville’s penalty, sending Morocco through after a dramatic contest in which they had forced extra time with a stoppage-time equalizer.
Morocco’s Neil El Aynaoui and Dutch substitute Justin Kluivert missed their attempts before Bart Verbruggen appeared to save Soufiane Rahimi’s effort, only for the ball to squirm underneath him and trickle over the line.
Quinten Timber then put the ball wide with the Dutch side’s fourth kick. Achraf Hakimi struck the post with the chance to seal victory before Saibari kept his nerve to send Morocco through.
Morocco players rush to congratulate Saibari at the end of Monday's shootout.Carl Recine/Getty Images
The shootout capped a gripping encounter in Monterrey that swung repeatedly in both teams’ favour, with Cody Gakpo’s emotional second-half opener cancelled out by Issa Diop’s stoppage-time header before neither team could find a winner in extra time.
Morocco fashioned the better chances before the break, with goalkeeper Verbruggen producing a series of outstanding saves to deny Ayoub Bouaddi’s close-range header and Neil El Aynaoui’s powerful effort.
At the other end, Bounou was finally called into action to parry Micky van de Ven’s long-range strike.
Hakimi rattled the crossbar and forced another save from Verbruggen as the Dutch struggled to contain the fullback’s runs from deep before Ronald Koeman’s introduction of Wout Weghorst gave his side a much-needed focal point in attack.
The substitute’s impact was immediate as he won a flick-on that released Summerville, whose persistence created the opening for Gakpo to sweep a first-time finish beyond Bounou in the 72nd minute.
Playing days after he and his partner lost their unborn son during pregnancy, Gakpo broke down in tears as teammates rushed to embrace him.
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The Netherlands looked increasingly comfortable, with captain Virgil van Dijk producing a crucial intervention to deny Saibari as Morocco threw numbers forward in search of an equalizer.
But just as the Dutch appeared set to see out the victory, substitute Chemsdine Talbi delivered a pinpoint cross from the left and Diop rose above Van Dijk to power a stoppage-time header beyond Verbruggen, sending the match into extra time.
Momentum swung from end to end, with the Netherlands threatening on the counter as Morocco chased the game, but could not make their pressure count in open play.
Having weathered Gakpo’s emotional opener and survived Hakimi’s missed chance to settle the shootout, Morocco held their nerve when it mattered most to keep their World Cup dream alive and book a date with Canada in Houston on Saturday.
It will only get tougher for the winner of that match, with possible quarter-final opponents including favourite France.
Stephen Eustáquio’s 92nd-minute winner proved the difference when Canada beat South Africa 1-0 in Inglewood, Calif., on Sunday, securing the nation’s historic first victory in the knockout stage of the tournament.
This is the second consecutive World Cup to feature a Canada-Morocco showdown.
The Atlas Lions, who entered the tournament ranked seventh in the world, defeated Canada 2-1 in their final group-stage game at the 2022 edition in Qatar before making a run to the semi-finals.
With a report from The Canadian Press