Thursday, November 21

Abdelhamid Sabiri and Zakaria Aboukhlal’s late goals gave Morocco a surprising 2-0 victory in Doha on Sunday, endangering Belgium’s World Cup aspirations.
Belgium, who finished third in Russia four years ago, had a chance to advance to the round of 16, but they instead put on another lackluster performance following their fortuitous opening victory over Canada.

Sabiri, a substitute, was the hero after Thibaut Courtois allowed a free kick to bounce in at his near post in the 73rd minute, and Aboukhlal added a second goal in stoppage time. At a boisterous Al Thumama Stadium, tens of thousands of Moroccan fans cheered their team home in response.

 

Morocco, who has replaced Belgium atop Group F, knows that if they overcome Canada on Thursday, they would return to the knockout round for the first time since 1986.

The world’s second-ranked team, Belgium, must defeat Croatia, who finished second in 2018, in order to advance.

The aging team of Roberto Martinez has advanced at least as far as the quarterfinals in the last four major competitions. Belgium’s captain, Eden Hazard, has acknowledged that his team isn’t as strong as it was in 2018. The team lacked energy and paid the price for it against motivated opposition. After the playing of the national anthems, goalie Yassine Bounou looked to indicate he wouldn’t be able to play, which delivered Morocco a blow.

 

He was replaced by the seasoned Munir El Kajoui.

The Atlas Lions supporters outnumbered their Belgian counterparts significantly, and they exhaled in relief when the Europeans came close to taking the lead in the fourth minute.

Munir blocked Michy Batshuayi’s shot from a close angle after Hazard had sent him in. Early on, Belgium had the upper hand, although Morocco did manage to get a shot at goal when Hakim Ziyech missed from a distance.

 

Morocco’s forward #14 Zakaria Aboukhlal scores his team’s second goal during the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group F football match between Belgium and Morocco at the Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha on November 27, 2022. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP)

 

– Morocco gains confidence –

Selim Amallah, a Belgian native, volleyed into the stands as the African team gained more control of the game, and Achraf Hakimi missed a good opportunity to score. When Ziyech’s free-kick sailed all the way into the goal in the final seconds of the first half, the fans erupted in wild jubilation.

Romain Saiss was slightly offside and in goalkeeper Courtois’ line of sight, therefore the goal was disallowed after a VAR review. Both teams came out firing in the second quarter, with Hazard forcing a save from Munir at his near post and Ziyech firing directly at Courtois. After a jinking run, Sofiane Boufal nearly broke the score in the 57th minute, but his shot missed the far post by a whisker.

 

On the hour mark, Martinez made two substitutions: Youri Tielemans entered the game in place of Amadou Onana in midfield, and Dries Mertens replaced the unproductive Hazard. When Munir blocked Mertens’ strike from just beyond the area, it almost had an immediate effect.

With 17 minutes left, the score was finally broken when Sabiri’s free-kick from close to the touchline, similar to Ziyech’s goal that was disallowed, caught Courtois off guard. Martinez made a last-ditch effort to get back into the game by inserting Romelu Lukaku, who was set to miss it due to injury.

 

However, Belgium had run out of options and the game’s second goal was scored by Morocco. Ziyech’s brilliant move opened up space in the box, allowing Aboukhlal to score on a pull-back from the Chelsea winger. The Moroccan fans were able to enjoy their country’s first World Cup victory in 24 years as any tension in the stadium was dissipated.

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