Morocco reward their great support with stunning win over Belgium
MOROCCO’S supporters raised the roof at Al Thumama Stadium after their team caused another huge World Cup upset in Qatar with a 2-0 victory over Belgium.
This already felt a tournament too far for Roberto Martinez’s ‘golden generation’ of Belgian players, but that should not detract at all from Morocco’s deserved achievement in beating a side featuring world-class talents such as Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois.
The north Africans join Saudi Arabia and Japan, the conquerors of Argentina and Germany respectively, in upsetting the old order, having already claimed a creditable goalless draw themselves against 2018 finalists Croatia in their opening game.
The goals came from second-half substitutes Abdelhamid Sabiri and Zakaria Aboukhlal, after Hakim Ziyech had one disallowed just before half-time.
Belgium are not out of it, but may now need to beat Croatia to progress to the last 16.
Morocco were forced into the latest of late changes when Yassine Bounou, named on the team sheet and standing in the line-up for the national anthem, had to be replaced before kick-off by Munir El Kajoui, with an eye issue reported to be the problem.
The vociferous Moroccan fans turned this into a home match for the Atlas Lions, whistling every Belgian touch.
The Moroccan fans were up in arms in first-half injury time when they had a goal ruled out after a VAR check. Ziyech’s whipped freekick from the right, intended as a cross, found its way into the goal but it was disallowed after the technology detected captain Romain Saiss was in an offside position, and Mexican referee Cesar Ramos judged he was obstructing Courtois’ view of the ball as it sailed past him, and therefore ‘active.’
Morocco forged ahead in the 73rd minute, with a goal strikingly similar to the one disallowed earlier as Sabiri curled in a right-footed free-kick from the left and it found its way past Courtois Again Saiss was obstructing the Real Madrid goalkeeper’s view, but he was onside this time.
Jan Vertonghen headed wide from a corner as the minutes slipped by, and Aboukhlal sealed an incredible win when he fired in at Courtois’ near post from Ziyech’s cut-back in stoppage-time.