Morocco defeated the Netherlands on penalties in their FIFA World Cup 2026 round of 32 clash at the Estadio Monterrey on Tuesday, June 30 (IST). The Atlas Lions put up a stellar performance against theย Oranje to defeat the three-time champions 3-2 on penalties after the two sides remained locked atย 1-1 in regulation time.ย
The African nation scored thrice in the shootouts despite missing the first penalty and trailing 0-1 after the first spot kicks. However, they stormed back into the game asย Ismael Saibari scored the winning goal on the fifth and final attempt afterย Yassine Bounou made a much-needed save fromย Crysencio Summerville’s strike, which was the fifth one for the Dutch.
Cody Gakpo opened the scoring sheet in the 72nd minute after scoring with his right foot from the centre. It looked like the Dutch would run away with the game, but Issa Diop scored a late equaliser in the first minute of stoppage time to take things into extra time.ย Chemsdine Talbi sent a cross from the left into the box as Diop headed home into the far top to bring his team back into the game.
Morocco could have finished things in the extra time, butย Soufiane Rahimi missed a brilliant scoring opportunity in the first half of the extra time. He fended the defenders off and then had only goalkeeperย Verbruggen in front of him, but he bottled the effort, hitting it into the centre as the Dutch goalkeeper made a stellar save with his knee.
Morocco win on penalties
The Dutch have not lost a World Cup match inside 90 minutes since 2006, but they have an underwhelming record in penalties. And it haunted them again as the African nation won 3-2.ย Koopmeiners gave the Dutch an early lead as Neil El Aynaoui failed to score for Morocco. Justin Kluivert hit the bar on the left for the Netherlands on the next attempt as Soufiane Rahimi scored this time to bring it level at 1-1. Weghorst scored for the Oranje as Talbi scored for Morocco too. Timber and Hakimi missed their attempts, and it all came down to the final penalty with the scores tied 2-2. Yassine Bounou saved the final spot kick from Crysencio Summerville before Ismael Saibari scored on the bottom left to win it for Morocco.
Netherlands make earliest exit from World Cup
This is the Netherlands’ earliest exit from a World Cup. They have reachedย at least the Round of 16 in 11 previous tournaments, having been a quarterfinalist last time in Qatar, when Morocco made a breakthrough run to the semifinals. The Oranje have now lost three consecutive World Cup matches on penalties. They went down to Argentina in the 2014 semifinal and then again to Laย Albiceleste in the 2022 quarterfinals. This marked their third straight loss on penalties.
Notably, Morocco had defeated Spain in the 2022 World Cup in the round of 16 on penalties. They made it to the semifinals in that tournament, having also beaten Portugal in the quarterfinals. They will now be up against Canada in the round of 16 on July 4.
ALSO READ |ย Paraguay shock Germany in World Cup round of 32, cruise through after win on penalties