Morocco advanced to its first-ever World Cup quarterfinal on Tuesday. The score went 0-0 and 3-0 on penalties in the match against Spain.
They ended up the happier ones in a neighborhood squabble played away from the neighborhood. Not only do they share 11½ miles of noncontiguous border, but their collision in the brackets here left the chance for bragging while boating through the Strait of Gibraltar. They settled that over here in the Middle East, where 44,667 shoehorned in to watch, seemingly 44,666 Moroccan judging by their songs all along and their jeers during long Spanish possessions.
The match of the neighbors went about as it might have — tense and taut with the goals all but walled. The hard, hard Moroccan defense, which technically still hasn’t allowed a goal in four World Cup matches — the lone goal against Morocco came on an own goal — often looked as if there were 14 of them.
Penalties came as they long seemed they would. Morocco started. Abdelhamid Sabiri, a substitute since the 82nd minute, shoved his to the right and in with no fuss, as Simón slid right. Sarabia stepped up for Spain and smacked into the post he hadn’t hit moments before, as it went under Bono’s left arm and smacked the right.Hakim Ziyech, another of the Moroccan stars, knocked his straight ahead as Simón went left, making it 2-0 in the penalties.
It stood 2-0, with Morocco on the verge of something big and something else. Hakimi eased his shot ahead, and then he turned around and did a modest dance and smiled like mad and waited for his charging mates. Three Spanish players would have the tiny consolation of company for their misery. Twenty-six Moroccan players would have celebrated lives up ahead, as the noise around them alone told of that.The final game of the World Cup’s round of 16 features Portugal and Switzerland in an all-European clash in Lusail, Qatar. The winner of this match will face Morocco on Saturday.
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