Netherlands endured their earliest exit in the FIFA World Cup after bowing out of the tournament in the round of 32 following their defeat to Morocco on Tuesday, June 30 (IST). The two teams gave it their all in a fascinating contest at the Estadio Monterrey as the two sides were tied 1-1 in regulation time before the Atlas Lions prevailed 3-2 on penalties.
The Oranje had the lead early from a Cody Gakpo strike in the 72nd minute, but Issa Diop cancelled it late in the 91st minute with a header to the top of the net as the match moved to extra time.ย
Morocco win on penalties
The African nation could have wrapped things up in the extra time if not for Soufiane Rahimi’s missed chance from five yards outside the goal. Rahimi went past the Dutch defenders and had only goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to deal with, but he bottled the chance up when he hit one in the centre of the goal as Verbruggen made a stellar save with his knee.
Things rolled into extra time as Morocco scored thrice and the Dutch twice. The African Nation won its second penalty shootout in World Cups, with their previous one coming against Spain in 2022. While the Atlas Lions kept their penalty shootout record intact, the Dutch have hit a new low.
Netherlands lose fourth shootout
The Oranje have now been knocked out of the World Cup on penalties for the fourth time. This is now the joint-most along with Spain, who have also suffered four shootout defeats.ย
The Dutch had lost to Brazil in the 1998 World Cup semifinal on penalties 4-2 before going down to Argentina in the 2014 semifinal (4-2) and in the 2022 quarterfinal (4-3). The defeat to Morocco marked their fourth loss on penalties.
Most defeats in penalty shootouts in World Cups:
1 – Spain:ย 4 times. Lost to Belgium (1986), South Korea (2002), Russia (2018), Morocco (2022)
2 – Netherlands: 4 times. Lost toย Brazil (1998), Argentina (2014), Argentina (2022), Morocco (2026)
3 – England: 3 times. Lost to West Germany (1990), Argentina (1998), Portugal (2006)
4 – Italy: 3 times. Lost toย Argentina (1990), Brazil (1994), France (1998)
5 – France: 2 times. Lost toย West Germany (1982), Italy (2006)
ALSO READ |ย Morocco hold nerve to edge past Netherlands on penalties, march into World Cup round of 16
ย