World Cup 2022: Morocco Stuns The World With Intriguing Victory Over Spain

Morocco reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time in their history after beating Spain on penalties in the round of 16.
Morocco, which was the last African team to play, will now play the winner of Portugal vs. Switzerland on Saturday in the round of eight.
After 120 minutes of play, the score was 0-0, so the game went to penalties. Morocco won 3-0 on penalties, with the winning kick coming from Spain-born Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi, who used a Panenka to score.
During a nail-biting penalty shootout, Spain’s Pablo Sarabia missed, while Morocco’s Abdelhamid Sabiri and Hakim Ziyech scored. Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets were stopped by goalkeeper Yassine Bono.
Both teams had chances to win the game in the extra time, which was tense, but Morocco deserved to win after 120 minutes of play.
Even though Spain had the ball for most of the 90 minutes and extra time, they only took one shot in the first half. These is the fewest shots they have taken in the first 45 minutes of a World Cup game since at least 1966.
Morocco played great defense the whole time, so Spain had a hard time getting past them. They didn’t get their first shot on goal until the 55th minute when Dani Olmo’s shot was blocked by Bono.
The African team had the best chance to win the game in regulation, and Nayef Aguerd’s free header at the 43-minute mark was their best chance. But he hit it so hard that it went over the bar.
After halftime, Spain kept control of the ball, but it looked like Morocco was still the more dangerous team. Azzedine Ounahi stopped a cross from Hakimi in the 86th minute, but Walid Cheddira couldn’t stop the shot with his foot.
Then, in the 92nd minute, Abde Ezzalzouli’s heavy touch stopped Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simon, and he was dangerously close to scoring an own goal.
Aymeric Laporte had a free header chance for Spain late in stoppage time, but he missed it completely. The game went into overtime and then penalties, and a great Moroccan team shocked Luis Enrique’s team.
READ ALSO: Meet The Only African Team That Tops Their Group In 2022 Qatar World Cup.