Belgium 0-2 Morocco: A Historic Win As Morocco Go Top Of Group F
Morocco recorded a famous 2-0 win over Belgium this afternoon to put themselves in the driving seat in Group F.
The victory leaves the North African side on four points and top of the group, with Croatia and Canada to play later today.
There was drama before kick-off as Morocco were forced to change goalkeeper’s seconds before the game started.
Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou stood for the national anthem but complained of an issue to manager Walid Regragui. Munir El Kajoui started the game in his place.
It was a scrappy first half where both sides struggled to take charge of the game. A lot of touches were miscontrolled, and a lot of passes were misplaced.
The first big chance came on the stroke of halftime when Morocco had a goal disallowed.
Hakim Ziyech swung in a free kick from the right-hand side which sailed past everyone into the back of the net.
However, Romain Saiss was offside and interfered with Thibault Courtois’ line of sight.
Therefore, the goal was chalked off.
Morocco went into the second half on the front foot, with Soufianne Boufal full of confidence and his side’s creative outlet.
The former Southampton man was a nightmare and Thomas Meunier couldn’t keep up.
The Atlas Lions broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute through substitute Abdelhamid Sabiri.
In a similar scenario to their disallowed goal in the first half, Sabiri and Ziyech stood over a free kick on the left-hand side, and the former swung it in.
The ball again travelled past everyone into the Belgian goal, beating Courtois at the near post.
Saiss again ran in front of the goalkeeper, but on this occasion timed his run perfectly, staying onside.
Belgium searched desperately for an equaliser but couldn’t break down the stubborn Moroccan defence.
They rolled the dice and sent on Romelu Lukaku, who was a doubt for today’s game and wasn’t 100%.
The striker ultimately proved ineffective.
As The Red Devils pushed up, they left themselves vulnerable to counter-attacks and Morocco punished them as they doubled their lead in the 93rd minute.
A long goal kick from El Kajoui was headed on by Abderrazak Hamdallah and Zakaria Aboukhal in quick succession which allowed Ziyech to run onto it in the Belgium box.
Beating Toby Alderweireld with a bit of skill the Chelsea winger cut the ball back across the box, finding Aboukhal who slammed the ball into the roof of the next.
The loss was Belgium’s first defeat in a World Cup group-stage game since 1994.
It also ended a run of eight consecutive World Cup group stage wins, stretching back to 2014.
This is a historic win for Morocco who will face Canada on Wednesday and hope to secure their place in the World Cup knockout stages for only the second time in their history.
https://sportsgazette.co.uk/japan-0-1-costa-rica-the-ticos-keeps-their-dreams-alive-for-round-16/
Japan 0-1 Costa Rica: the Ticos Keeps their Dreams Alive for Round 16
