Morocco has taken a big step towards the round of 16. The “Atlas Lions” won against Scotland 1-0 (1-0). But everything is still possible for the Scots considering the table constellation.
Man of the match was Ismael Saibari. The striker, who is supposed to move from Eindhoven to FC Bayern, had already given the North Africans a 1-0 lead in the second minute – and was also the asset in other ways. Nothing came from Scotland for a long time, and even though they improved in the final stages, the Moroccan victory was no longer in danger.
With the victory, Morocco at least temporarily took the lead in Group C. Because the Scots won their first game against Haiti 1-0, they can still have legitimate hopes of progressing.
“We had the worst start imaginable. We didn’t even touch the ball until the goal,” said Scotland’s Lewis Ferguson angrily, but he was happy with his team’s reaction. “Our performance in the second half was really good. I think we deserved a point.”
Morocco gets off to a flying start
The anthems, which were sung loudly by both fan camps, had barely faded away when Morocco was already leading. As in the first game, Brahim Diaz sent Saibari on his way with a very fine pass. The center forward moved into the penalty area and shot the ball so hard into the corner that it almost got stuck in the net – 1-0 (2nd).
The scene set the tone: as soon as things went quickly, the Scots couldn’t keep up. Nine minutes later, Saibari passed the ball after a cross in front of the goal – luck for the Europeans. In the 18th minute, right-back Achraf Hakimi moved up wide and intervened in the penalty area when Grant Hanley tried to block the ball for his keeper. Morocco’s captain got to the ball with his toe, but was denied by Angus Gunn.
Ismael Saibari celebrates his opening goal against Scotland.
El Khannouss leaves the score 2-0
Shortly afterwards, the Scots were able to take a breather – at 25 degrees Celsius and slightly cloudy, they took a drinking break. From her point of view, things didn’t get any better after that. First Neil El Aynaoui shot over from a promising position (30th). Then Scott McTominay lost the ball in midfield – in a duel that was at least worth discussing – and the Moroccans turned on the turbo again: Seconds later, Bilal El Khannouss was free in front of Gunn, but shot well over (36th).
The Scots tried to resist physically. However, the attacks fizzled out for a long time in the Moroccan midfield, again directed by Ayyoub Bouaddi. It was only towards the end of the first half that the Scots were able to build up a little pressure. This resulted in two “shots on goal”. John McGinn had the best opportunity after a sharp cross, but he volleyed the ball towards Oberrang from a tight angle (45th+1).
Morocco’s Bilal El Khannouss made it 2-0 against Scotland.
Gunn saves with a brilliant save
Shortly after the restart, the Scottish attacker called for a penalty. However, the Uzbek referee team around Ilgiz Tantashev decided to continue play (49′). At first there remained a flicker of Scottish hope.
Two minutes later, Saibari’s shot was deflected by Jack Hendry and hit the crossbar (50′). Another two turns of the pointer later, El Khannouss headed the ball at the five-pointer after a Hakimi corner, and Gunn prevented the score from making it 0-2 with a brilliant effort.
McTominay misses the opportunity to equalize
On the other hand, Bono was not asked for anything further. Ryan Christie also didn’t even get the ball onto the Moroccan goal from 16 meters (64′). Nevertheless, it remained exciting, at least in terms of the score, because the Moroccans were no longer pushing forward with vigor. Brahim Diaz missed the cross pass to Saibari and wasted the ball (77′).
Five minutes before the end there was actually another chance for the Scots. McTominay was interrupted by Chadi Riad at the last moment, so his shot ended up in the side netting. But that was it for Scotland. Morocco had the last chance, but could afford not to take advantage of it.
outlook
The Moroccans, who will face Haiti in Atlanta on Thursday at midnight, are already almost through with their four points. The fight for group victory will probably be about the goal difference compared to Brazil. Carlo Ancelotti’s team will face Scotland in Miami at the same time.