Morocco beat the Netherlands on penalties in Monterrey on Monday and moved into the round of 16, setting up a Canada vs Morocco meeting in Houston on Saturday. Ismael Saibari took the final kick and sent it into the left corner to end the shootout and eliminate the Netherlands.
The match finished 2-2 before penalties, and Morocco needed the last kick after Bart Verbruggen had kept the Netherlands alive with a strong night in goal. Verbruggen dived to his left on Saibari’s attempt, but the shot still found the corner.
The result mattered because it came in a round of 32 day that already had two penalty shootouts and had pushed Germany and the Netherlands out earlier than expected. Three knockout games were played Monday, with three more matches scheduled for Tuesday, and Morocco’s win made its next step clear: Canada in Houston.
Morocco did not make that route easy. Its first penalty was missed high and hit the crossbar, and Soufiane Rahimi’s effort was only turned in after the ball was stopped and then bundled over the line by the goalkeeper’s leg. Even after that scramble, the Netherlands led 1-0 after the first round of kicks, which made Saibari’s finish the decisive swing.
That is the part that gives the result its weight. Morocco got the goal it needed from Saibari, but it also survived a shootout in which the Netherlands had chances to take control and Verbruggen played well enough to keep the game in doubt until the final kick. The prize now is a place in the round of 16 and a Saturday date with Canada in Houston.
For Morocco, the next match is already set. For Canada, the pairing is the reward for getting through the bracket on the other side of the tournament path. Monday’s result closed one door and opened another, and the knockout stage will now decide whether Morocco’s penalty win in Monterrey becomes the start of something bigger.
