FIFA World Cup 2022 | Morocco beats Spain 3-0 on penalties, to meet Portugal or Switzerland in quarterfinals

Morocco’s midfielder Hakim Ziyech scores past Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simon during the penalty shoot-out in the Qatar 2022 World Cup round of 16 football match between Morocco and Spain at the Education City Stadium in Al-Rayyan, west of Doha on December 6, 2022.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Morocco dumped Spain out of the World Cup in a last-16 penalty shootout on Tuesday with Spanish-born Achraf Hakimi scoring the decisive spot-kick after Spain squandered all three of their attempts, following a 0-0 draw over 120 minutes.

Hakimi, a product of the Real Madrid youth system, calmly slotted his penalty past Unai Simon in Spain’s goal to seal Morocco’s 3-0 win in the shootout.

During the 90 minutes plus extra time, Spain dominated possession but failed to create many clear chances against Morocco’s stubborn defence.

Morocco advanced to a quarter-final clash with either Portugal or Switzerland who meet later on Tuesday. 

Teams

Morocco (4-3-3):

Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Nayef Aguerd, Romain Saiss (capt), Noussair Mazraoui; Sofyan Amrabat, Azzedine Ounahi, Selim Amallah; Hakim Ziyech, Youssef En-Nesyri, Sofiane Boufal

Coach: Walid Regragui (MAR)

Spain (4-3-3):

Unai Simon; Marcos Llorente, Rodri Hernandez, Aymeric Laporte, Jordi Alba; Sergio Busquets (captain), Gavi, Pedri; Ferran Torres, Marco Asensio, Dani Olmo

Coach: Luis Enrique (ESP)

Referee: Fernando Rapallini (ARG)