Morocco gets the ‘Bonus’ for the round of 16

Morocco Keep dreaming about the World Cup. The ‘Atlas Lions‘they eliminated Netherlands in agony penalty shootout after an intense 1-1 that took 120 minutes to decide. Gakpo overtook the ‘Orange‘, but Issa Diop He equalized the match in stoppage time to force extra time. After a round full of suspensewith errors, posts and stops, Saibari converted the decisive shot to classify Morocco to the round of 16, where they will face Canada.

Ronald Koeman He made a move in the first serious match of the tournament. The Dutch coach left the 4-3-3 used in the group stage and opted for a 5-2-3with Van de Ven and Summerville as news regarding the victory against Tunisia and Reijnders and Malen out of eleven. OuahbiOn the other hand, he gave continuity to the team that left good feelings in the World Cup debut against Brazilwith Saibari for reference, Brahma starting from the right and Bouaddi and El Aynaoui in the double pivot.

This change by the Dutch coach was seen from the first minute in the BBVA of Monterrey. Netherlands started with a much more prudent plan than usual, with They go fromCome stretching as a left winger even higher than Dumfries on the right, although the ‘Orange‘He almost always attacked from the side of the still Inter player. Morocco It didn’t take him long to show his personality: short possessions, a lot of energy in duels and Hakimi as one of the first ways to gain meters.

The start was more physical than fluid. There was no clear dominatorbut an exchange of guarded possessions, with the Netherlands playing between central without wanting to get messy and Morocco waiting for any robbery to accelerate. Sparks flew from very early on, especially in a tough inning by Saibari about Van Heckeand each split ball was played as if it were the last. The party had knockout pace: little space, a lot of leg and the constant feeling that a mistake could break everything.

The Verbruggen Wall

The first big shock came in the minute 20 and it was Moroccan. In a corner at the near post, El Aynaoui went ahead to Brobbey and forced Verbruggen to react safely. In the rejection, Bouaddi He sent his shot very high from the edge of the area, but Morocco did not stop there. Just a few seconds later, Hakimi He hit a powerful shot from the right and forced the goalkeeper Brighton to sign a great handball to the corner. In just two minutes, the ‘Atlas Lions‘They had warned three times.

After the hydration break, the match maintained the same tone: a lot of muscle, few free meters and more control than overflow. Morocco continued to transmit a higher intensity in many duels, while the Netherlands accumulated safe possessions to avoid breaking away. When they didn’t have the ball, Koeman’s team sank into a 5-4-1, with Brobbey as reference and without constant high pressure on the Moroccan centrals. Only jumped when the play it opened wide or when Morocco surpassed a first line.

Bono holds the pulse

The Europeans also had their moments before the break, almost always from the right or with long shots behind their backs. Issa Diop and Mazraoui They appeared as fire extinguishers to stop Brobbey, Summerville and Dumfries when the danger began to grow. The clearest Dutch opportunity came in 44‘, when They come from come He caught a ball in the front and took a spanking with the left-handedbut Bond responded with a spectacular hand. Morocco responded in the discount with several arrivals of Saibari and Ounahialthough without final success, and the Netherlands closed the first half with an action that once again frustrated Diop when Gakpo I was already preparing the shot. The 0-0 score survived the break, but not for lack of tension.

After passing through the locker room, Morocco took a step forward. The intensity did not drop a single point and the first yellow of the match, Issa Diop for a fault on Brobbeyconfirmed that the match was still playing to the limit. Netherlands hardly bothered in a lateral foul that They come from come he nodded back and Bond He caught without problems, while Ouahbi’s team began to establish themselves in the rival field with more continuity, more ball and more fang.

Ounahi takes command

The Moroccan command was born at the feet of Ounahi. He Morocco’s ‘8’the one who amazed Luis Enrique in Qatarbegan to ask for the ball again and again, falling to the right to join with Brahim and Hakimi. From there came the best associations of the ‘Atlas Lions’, with El Khannouss, Saibari, Bouaddi and the sides appearing inside and out. In it 52‘, a filtered pass of Ounahi left Hakimi in a forward position and the side of the PSG crashed the ball into the crossbar. Morocco had returned better and the Netherlands was beginning to sink.

The African pressure was suffocating for almost twenty minutes. Koeman’s team was locked in a low blockdefending very close to Verbruggen and trying to survive base of clearances, legs and aids. Hakimi accumulated several corners at the near post that forced the Dutch goalkeeper to intervene even with the legwhile Saibari threatened with a individual action on the left that Van Dijk cut for a corner when danger was already around the small area. Morocco overloaded the right sidewith Ounahi as a compass and Hakimi as a dagger.

Koeman finds air

Koeman He reacted with a double substitution that changed the script. They entered Koopmeiners and Weghorst by Ake and Brobbeyand the forward’s first intervention was decisive. In it 72′a long shipment of Verbruggen found the hairstyle Weghorst, Summerville picked up the continuation and gave way to Gakpowhich beat Bond in it hand in hand. The Netherlands, subdued for much of the second half, found itself with the goal in a direct actionone of those that explain why the Dutch plan never stopped looking at the back of the Moroccan defense.

The goal changed the scenario, but not the substance of the game. Morocco regained possession and the Netherlands dedicated itself to bailing out water. Koopmeiners started chasing Ounahi to cut the main circuit of the Africans, while Van Dijk, Van Hecke, Mazraoui and Issa Diop They multiplied in their respective areas to put out fires. Dumfries He was even able to finish in a very long race that ended without a finisher, but the feeling was different: The ‘Oranje’ defended closer and closer to their goal and Morocco pushed with everything.

Diop forces extra time

He prize It arrived at the discount. In it 90+1‘, with Morocco already attacking desperately, Talbi put a center from the left and Issa Diop, converted into emergency center forwardappeared free in the area for head to the bottom of the network and score his first goal with the Moroccan shirt. The changes had also taken effect on the other side: Weghorst participated in the goal Gakpo and Talbi served the draw of Diop. The Netherlands had a last transition in 90+6‘, but Mazraoui came across a saving mow before the shot Summerville. The game went to extra time with a statistic that summarized the second half: 60 passes from the ‘Oranje’ for more than 300 from Morocco.

Verbruggen saves the ‘Oranje’

The extension started with the Netherlands a little longer bossyresorting to distant centers and long balls that even forced Bono to come out with his fists. However, the occasion of the extension was Moroccan: in the 96‘, Saibari found Rahimi inside the area, the forward left Koopmeiners with a beautiful cut and, when the goal seemed done, Verbruggen appeared with a spectacular forearmto sign one of the World Cup stops. From there, Morocco once again took possession, widened the field and forced the ‘Oranje’ to defend further and further back, already with De Jong and Gakpo out due to exhaustion. The fatigue ended up outweighing the clarity, although Summerville still threatened the back in the 120+2‘. Salah-Eddine he cut the last run and the game, with Morocco more deserving on occasions, went to the penalties.

A batch of madness

The batch was one craziness. Netherlands started ahead with a very tight penalty Koopmeinersthat Bond guessed but couldn’t serve, and Morocco responded with the crossbar HeAynaoui. Kluivert He was able to open a gap, but he also crashed with the stick. Rahimi tied with suspense, after Verbruggen the shot was his turn and the ball ended up bouncing off the goalkeeper’s leg. Weghorst he again overtook the ‘Orange‘ and Talbi He responded with a shot almost to the squadbefore the round was definitively unleashed: Timber sent his penalty too wide, Hakimi he forgave with a shot stick and Bonus appeared to stop the launch of Summerville. Saibarithe footballer who had lit up the game from the start, he took the last shot and did not miss. Morocco survived the chaos, knocked down the Netherlands and extended its World Cup dream from eleven meters. They will face Canada in the round of 16.