Morocco and Spain were locked in a 0-0 stalemate in their Round of 16 game at the Education City Stadium on Tuesday.
The game moved to 30 minutes of extra time and will proceed to a penalty shoot out if the teams fail to score in the stipulated additional time.
Spain faced a similar situation in the 2018 World Cup when it was eliminated in the Round of 16 against Russia. Koke and Iago Aspas missed their spot kicks as the host won the shoot out 4-3.
Spain has seen its fate decided by penalties on three more occasions at the World Cup. The first one came in 1986 when it lost to Belgium in the quarter final.
Next, it beat Republic of Ireland in the Round of 16 in the 2002 World Cup in South Korea. After winning the penalty shootout against Ireland, it was asked to win the same in the quarterfinals against the host. Yet again, it was the host that prevailed.
Spain has lost three of the four penalty shootouts it has faced at the quadrennial event, making it a success rate of just 25%.
The most recent penalty shoot out for the 2010 champion was at the 2020 Euro. In the semifinal, Spain faced Italy. The teams played a 1-1 draw and Italy won the shoot out 4-2. Alvaro Morata and Dani Olmo missed for La Furia Roja.
For Morocco, it will be unchartered waters in the penalty shoot out. It has never faced the situation in a World Cup.
The country has seen four shoot outs in history in competitive fixtures, and has lost all four. The last one came in 2021 Arab against Algeria where it lost 3-5.
A shoot out between Spain and Morocco will be the second Round of 16 game that will be decided by spot kicks. On Monday, Croatia beat Japan 3-1 on penalties after their game was locked at 1-1 after the end of 120 minutes.
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