Second World Cup game against Morocco
Scotland’s fight is not rewarded
Updated June 20, 2026 – 2:17 amReading time: 2 minutes
Scotland spent almost the entire season chasing a deficit against Morocco. In the end the fight is not rewarded.
Led by Bayern’s dream player Ismael Saibari Moroccan national team thwarted the big Scotland party and progressed with the WM almost certainly. After a lightning goal from the offensive man from Paris Saint-Germain (2nd minute), the secret favorite defeated the Tartan Army-driven Scots 1-0 (1-0) and is on course for the round of 16 with four points. Despite the setback, the Bravehearts (3) can still hope to survive the group phase for the first time.
That’s how the game went
After just 70 seconds, Saibari let the 2022 World Cup fourth place celebrate; the 25-year-old had already scored for the “Lions of the Atlas” in the 1-1 draw at the start against Brazil. At the end, Morocco plays against outsiders Haiti in Group C, Scotland has to survive against Brazil (both Thursday, from 00:00 in the t-online live ticker).
There were boos for Morocco’s captain in front of 64,146 fans in Foxborough Achraf Hakimiwhich dominated the headlines in the hours before the game. Because of the accusation of rape, the PSG defender has to answer in court in France, as the Versailles appeal court announced on Friday. It’s about allegations from 2023, which the former Dortmund player has always denied.
The Scottish fans in particular made the stadium vibrate during the anthem. But what followed was an early shock for them and national coach Steve Clarke’s team: Real professional Brahim Díaz, who had already been the provider against Brazil, sent on Saibari, who, unchallenged, took the lead from a half-right position with a powerful right-footed shot.
The flexible offensive player is said to cost Bayern just under 55 million euros. The player of the year in the Dutch Eredivisie reportedly completed his medical check in the USA on Tuesday. Bilal El Khannouss from VfB Stuttgart (36th/52nd), Neil El Aynaoui (30th) and Saibari (50th) continued to miss good opportunities.
And with the Scots? We didn’t have much of an offensive connection for a long time. The defense around captain Andy Robertson often had problems, and it was only after the break that they became a little more courageous. They unsuccessfully called for a penalty after John McGinn (49′) was brought down by Neil El Aynaoui in the penalty area, the man hit the ball AS Rome not in the scene.
