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Match report: Morocco through to quarterfinals after 3-0 penalty shootout win against Spain
Full Time! Morocco beats Spain 3-0 in penalties to make it to the quarterfinals
Morocco vs Spain penalty shootout
End of Extra-time!
Spain continues knocking on the door of the Moroccan defence and Sarabia, who replaced Williams, tries a shot. But Saiss, the captain of Morocco, intercepts and blocks the shot.
Chance! Morata attacks on the counter, but his poor finishing sees Hakimi track back just on time and Spain loses another opportunity to exploit spaces in the Moroccan box.
Morocco attacks on the counter and Cheddira runs into the box. However, Rodri makes a last minute interception to stop him and his final shot is stopped by Unai Simon.
Spain tries to switch play along the midfield, passing the ball from the left to right and Nico Williams fails to keep the ball in play and the attack stops and Spain starts afresh yet again
Constant pressure from Spain as Morocco looks tired of having a pinball of passes in the midfield. Luis Enrique would be relieved that the Atlas Lions have not scored yet.
As the second-half of extra time begins, Spain looks to resort to the long ball approach, with Morata being fed one from the back, but his fails to capitalise as Morocco clears the ball away.
Soler takes the corner kick, which is punched away by Bounou and Llorente shoots on the follow-up, which is saved as well asnd that ends the first half of extra-time.
Save! Morocco goes in an attack this time. Ounahi carries the ball in the final third, releases Cheddira and delivers a through ball for him. But the forward’s hot on target is saved a timely save off the right-leg of Unai Simon.
Spain looks frustrated with the defensive masterclass by Morocco and Rodri tries a shot from distance. But this time, unlike his long ranger striker in the Premier League, the ball flies off target.
Balde delivers a through ball for Morata, who crosses for a header, but Morocco is keeping its defence very tight as Sabiri tracks back and heads the ball out of danger.
Two changes for Spain! In: Balde, Fati , Out: Alba, Olmo
A very good pass from Amrabat for Cheddira sees the substitute beat the Spanish defending line, but just before his final shot, Laporte intercepts, guiding it to Unai Simon.
Ziyech delivers a lovely long ball for Cheddira, but Spain tracks back right on time to intercept as Alba clears the ball out of dangers amid whistles and boos from Moroccan fans.
End of regulation time and beginning of ET 1st half!
Both the sides continue to test the defenders with attacks along the wings, but neither side has found the net so far. A late free kick for Spain. Olmo takes the free-kick and BNico’s dummy forces a save by Bounou.
Carlos Soler takes the free kick, which is header by Morata, but the ball flies over the net in another failed opportunity by the Spaniards.
Nico Williams goes in an attack with a run against the run of play and delivers a through ball for Morata, who pulls of a good shot, which is first blocked by Amrabat and Nico tries another, after which the linesman raises the flag for offside.
Chance for Morocco! Hakimi crosses from the right for Cheddira, but Spain is marking Morocco well enough as the header is finally stopped by Unai Simon.
Forced substitution for Morocco! Naif Aguerd is helped out of the field after an injury in his right led and Jawad El Yamiq replaces him
Three changes for Morocco!
Chance! Nico Williams, who has replaced Ferran Torres, makes instant impact after a cross for Olmo, which is intercepted by the Moroccan defence for a corner kick. However, the chance is spoiled for by Spain as the set-piece opportunity is spoiled.
Yellow card! Aymeric Laporte tries to stop Hakimi’s run and misses the ball to stamp on his boot. The referee immediately reaches for his pocket and books the City defender.
Spain tries to attack on the counter and Morata is ruled offside as Enrique’s side’s constant efforts to match forward is stifled.
Spain goes in attack and Olmo delivers a through ball for Morata, who delays to take a shot and Aguerd tracks back right on time to deny Spain a chance as Morata goes down demanding a penalty. The referee, however, is not interseted.
Laporte has started playing the long balls that Ramos usually used to play from the back and this time the Manchester City centre-back delivers a long ball for Torres on the right, but it just overruns the winger and goes out of play.
Change for Morocco! In: Abdessamad Ezzalzouli , Out: Sofiane Boufal
Morocco attacks on the counter and Ziyech sprints along the right wing till Alba stops him in his tracks and gets injured in the process. Two changes for Spain meanwhile. In: Carlos Soler, Alvaro Morata, Out: Gavi, Marco Asensio
Ball recovery time for Spain (15 seconds) has been half the time taken by Morocco for the same (31 seconds). In Spain’s last game, Japan’s time was six times that of Spain. Still Japan won the game. It will be interesting to see if Spain, obsessed with possession, can turn its fortunes tonight.
Morocco has a red-shirt stuck to every Spanish player and has ensured the La Furia Roja are frozen in their positions. The African side has , so far, looked successful.
54’ Save! Morocco escapes a goal
It has been a common routine for Spain to try and start afresh with play from the back. Gavi gets the ball along the left flank and goes down after a foul by Hakimi.
Spain starts an attack on the counter, with fluid passes along the wings, with Pedri passing to Rodri and finally the ball moves to Torres. However, the ball is forced out for a Morocco throw-in.
Ferran Torres tries to get the ball in the final third and Mazraoui pushes him down for a free kick. Olmo takes the kick, but the ball is headed out for a throw-in.
Second half begins!
Matchday trivia!
Half-Time! Morocco 0-0 Spain
Spain looks to attack in set-pieces as Pedri delivers a cross from the right, but it finds no one in the Morocco penalty box as Spain’s attempts to attack, though rarely in the first half, comes to an end.
42’ Another chance for Morocco!
Pedri switches play from the right to the left to Alba and the Barca full-back delivers a through ball for Olmo, but Hakimi intercepts and make sure the ball is forced out for a goal kick.
Ziyech delivers a through ball for Hakimi, but the Morocco is overrun and Spain gets a throw-in.
Spain gets back possession and is slowly building from the back. Ounahi tries to press along the right flank, but fails to capitalise as Spain regains the ball, marching up the pitch now.
Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simon, bottom, makes a save past Morocco’s Youssef En-Nesyri during the World Cup round of 16 match. | Photo Credit: AP
Save! Morocco switches play and then Mazraoui makes a forward run and shoots from outside the box, forcing a good save by Simon. En-Nesyri follows up as Simon fails to grab it initially, but Simon soon gets a grip over it.
After two quick attacks from Spain, Morocco is looking to ease out the pressure by playing from the back as Moroccan fans cap their way to support its team in the World Cup round of 16.
Chance for Spain!
Boufal gets the ball into the final third with another dribble past Llorente. The Atletico player has tries to fil in for Azpilicueta and Carvajal, but now the Lions looks to be rounding him well enough.
Morocco looks on sing with fluid passes, Boufal beating three defenders on the left, then switches the play with a long cross to his right. Spain’s attempt to intercept goes in vain as Morocco gets the ball back and Hakimi crosses in the centre, only to see Laporte head the ball out of danger.
Spain tries the long ball approach with Aymeric Laporte sailing in a long ball got Jordi Alba, but too much force on it sees it end up in the gloves of Bounou.
Morocco’s high press gets it trapped in Spain’s off-side trap and Spain gets the ball rolling with a quick free kick.
Time for Morocco to start another attack. Boufal carries the ball from the midfield to the final third, passes to Mazraoui, who crosses for En-Nesyri in the centre. Unai Simon jumps to intercept and stops that attack.
Achraf Hakimi takes the free kick as a left-footed curler, which rifled past the target, inches away from goal. That ball was travelling! And as the ball goes out of play, Spain and Unai Simon breathe a sigh of relief.
Boufal tries to attack on the counter, but Llorente and Gavi get to him and the latter gifts a free-kick to the Atlas Lions.
Spain is forced into its own half, as it tries to exploit the Moroccan defence using small passes. And almost gets successful as Torres dribbles through into the box, but Gavi eventually concedes a foul for a Moroccan free-kick to end that development.
Morocco tries to in attack, with a long ball along the left wing. Boufal tries to beat Llorente, but fails as the right-back looks to impress in his first start for Spain in this World Cup.
Dani Olmo is looking the same dangerous winger as he has throughout the tournament. He has filled in well for Oyarzabal as Enrique has proved a younger side can show much more promise, so far in the tournament.
Morocco with some early pressing in the opening minutes of the first-half.
KICK-OFF!!
FORM GUIDE: Morocco vs Spain:
Morocco is unbeaten in the World Cu so far, with one draw and two wins and its last loss came in June this year, to the USA in an international friendly.
Spain, on the other hand, comes into the match after a loss to Japan in its last group stage game. It has three wins, a loss and a draw in its last five matches.
Morocco vs Spain head-to-head:
This will be the fourth clash between Morocco and Spain, and Morocco has not won any of the previous three clashes. Spain has won twice and the only draw between them was in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, four years ago.
Morocco has scored four goals while Spain has scored six, in the clashes before this FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 round of 16 match.
MAR vs ESP H2H:
- Morocco 0-1 Spain (World Cup qualifying playoff) -- November 12, 1961
- Spain 3-2 Morocco (World Cup qualifying playoff) -- November 23, 1961
- Spain 2-2 Morocco (World Cup) -- June 25, 2018
Matchday trivia!
LINE-UPS!
Spain coach Luis Enrique gave his team a unique assignment following a penalty shootout loss to Italy at last year’s European Championship.
“I told my players they have homework ahead of the World Cup. You need to take at least 1,000 penalties with your club,” Luis Enrique recounted Monday. “We can’t just work on it in our training camp with the national team.”
While Spain is hoping it won’t come down to a shootout against Morocco in the round of 16 on Tuesday, at least the team is well prepared if it does get to that point.
Spain was also eliminated in a penalty shootout at the 2018 World Cup, by host Russia.
“It doesn’t just depend on luck. It’s a moment of the highest pressure. If you’ve trained for that often, then the way you take a penalty will improve,” Luis Enrique said. “Obviously you cannot train for the pressure and the tension. But it’s manageable. You can cope with that pressure.”
Ferran Torres converted a penalty for Spain in its opening 7-0 win over Costa Rica.
Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón saved two penalties in a shootout win over Switzerland before the loss to Italy at Euro 2020.
“The goalkeepers are ready, too. You’ve seen it in our training sessions,” Luis Enrique said through a translator. “It’s homework that we’ve taken into account.”
Morocco has been one of the biggest surprises of the tournament by winning a difficult group ahead of 2018 finalist Croatia and 2018 semifinalist Belgium.
Morocco conceded only one goal in its three group matches and the team has big support in Qatar as the last of the four Arab qualifiers still playing — and now the last African team, too, after Senegal was eliminated by England on Sunday.
“Everyone wants to come to Doha,” said Morocco coach Walid Regragui, who only took over his team in August. “We could fill two stadiums.”
As close neighbors, there are also a lot of ties between Morocco and Spain.
Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou and striker Youssef En-Nesyri both play in Spain for Sevilla. Talented right back Achraf Hakimi, a Paris Saint-Germain player, was born in Madrid. Regragui played in Spain with Racing Santander.
Many of Morocco’s players speak Spanish and the team’s medical staff is Spanish.
“Morocco is a country for which we have a great relationship,” Luis Enrique said. “It’s a festival of football.”
Spain also met Morocco in the teams’ final group game in 2018, which ended 2-2.
“They play a possession game, which is very difficult for the opponent but also for people watching,” Regragui said. “Tak, tak, tak, tak, tak until the players are tired.”
For inspiration, Morocco is looking to Japan’s win over Spain in the final set of group games, when Japan had only 17% of the possession.
“We need to have a strong head. We need to accept that they’re going to play a possession game,” Regragui said. “Spain won’t know what to do with all that ball possession — that’s our plan.”
The winner will face either Portugal or Switzerland for a spot in the semifinals.
(via AP)
MAR vs ESP Predicted lineups:
When and where to watch
When will the Morocco vs Spain Round of 16 match kick-off?
The Morocco vs Spain Round of 16 match will kick-off at 8:30 pm IST, December 6.
Where will the Morocco vs Spain Round of 16 match kick-off?
The Morocco vs Spain Round of 16 match will kick-off at Stadium 974.
Where can you watch the Morocco vs Spain Round of 16 match in India?
The Morocco vs Spain Round of 16 match will be telecasted live on Sports18 and Sports18 HD. On Android and well as iOS, the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be live streamed on JioCinema.
Where can you watch the Morocco vs Spain Round of 16 match outside India?
Argentina – Live Stream: Telemundo
United States – TV: FOX, Telemundo; Live Stream: fuboTV, Fox Sports app, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo
Canada – TV: CTV, TSN; Live Stream: fuboTV, TSN app
United Kingdom – TV: BBC One; Live Stream: BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport Website
Australia – TV: SBS; Live Stream: SBS On Demand
New Zealand – TV: Sky Sports; Live Stream: Sky Sport
Malaysia – TV: RTM, Astro; Live Stream: Astro Go
Singapore – TV: Mediacorp Channel 5; Live Stream: StarHub TV+, IPTV, Singtel TV
Hong Kong – TV: BeIN Sports, ITV; Live Stream: Now TV, ViuTV
Nigeria – SuperSport and Showmax Pro.
Get all the results for the FIFA World Cup 2022 here: Full list of all matches, scores, results, goalscorers
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- Scan the World Cup in pictures
- Football fans, put your skills to the test with FIFA World Cup Quiz
- Soak in the rich history of the football World Cup
- WATCH: What’s happening in Qatar and who is saying what
- Here are some of the most frequently asked questions
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