Spain vs. Morocco: Morocco eliminated the Spanish soccer team in a penalty shootout in the round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup to advance to the quarterfinals.
Spain, who earned their place in the round of 16 after finishing second in Group E, entered this game as favorites to advance to the next stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
But it was Morocco who emerged victorious late in the match, beating Spain in a penalty shootout to secure their place in the quarterfinals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Despite dominating possession in this match between Spain and Morocco, the former couldn’t find a way to get past the latter. Spain had 77% possession in this game, but only had one shot on goal throughout regulation time and overtime. Morocco, for its part, made two shots on goal.
This match Spain vs Morocco FIFA World Cup 2022 had a goalless first half. Both teams headed into the break without scoring a goal. More of the same in the second half as another 45 minutes went by without goals.
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Spain vs Morocco: Morocco defeats Spain on penalties in the round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup
The match went into extra time after both sides failed to find a winner in regulation time. Both teams were looking for a decisive goal that would take them to the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the next 30 minutes, but the score was still goalless.
That led the game to the eventuality of a penalty shootout. In this Spain vs. Morocco penalty shootout, it was the latter who took the first shot. Abdelhamid Sabiri stepped up to take Morocco’s kick, and converted from the penalty spot to give his team the perfect start in the shootout.
Pablo Sarabia took Spain’s first penalty in this shootout, but missed. Advantage for Morocco as Sarabia’s shot hit the post.
Hakim Ziyech was the author of Morocco’s second penalty of the match, and made no mistake from the penalty spot. Carlos Soler took Spain’s second penalty but his shot was saved by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
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Next up for Morocco was Badr Benoun, but his shot from the penalty spot was saved by Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon. That gave Spain a ray of hope.
However, Sergio Busquets, who took Spain’s third penalty in the shootout, saw his shot saved by the impressive Bounou. That meant Morocco needed to score just one of the two remaining penalties in the shootout to seal their place in the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals.
In this Spain vs Morocco match, Achraf Hakimi stepped up to take Morocco’s fourth penalty in the shootout and put the ball into the net to send his team to the next phase of the competition and eliminate Spain.
