“It’s going to be a very difficult and very balanced game,” Spanish defensive midfielder Rodri predicted. He was right. Thousands of Moroccans would like to take part in this round of 16, but there were only 44,000 seats in Education City. They would vibrate, pray and, most importantly, tremble, like those who stood in the stands of the enclosure. They would have been particularly pleased when, at the end of the suspense, when a 0-0 draw sent both teams to penalties, Ashraf Hakimi, the most Spaniard of the Moroccans, made an incredible panenka to offer his country his first World Cup. Cup quarter final.
On several occasions Walid Regraga’s men had the opportunity to confirm the correctness of their actions. Parisian Hakimi has already set the tone with a beautiful free kick a little higher (12th). Mazraoui’s shot, captured in two stages by the Spanish goalkeeper (33rd), Agerda’s header slightly higher after a cross from a very inspired Boufal to dribble past Llorente (42nd) gave high hopes to the Moroccans.
The hosts of the ball, the Spaniards Luis Enrique, formulated their first blow only in the 55th minute with Olmo’s blow. The most dangerous move came in the 82nd minute, when Morata crossed the ball wide of the line. After five minutes of extra time, Olmo’s free kick forced Bouno to make a great save.
The extra time did nothing to lessen the increasingly palpable tension on the pitch. For Spain, it was, according to Opta, the fifth in the last five knockout matches in a major tournament.
With Soler, the Parisian coming into the game in midfield from the 63rd, and Morata in attack, the Spaniards were looking for a way out. But the Moroccans created the biggest moment. Unfortunately for them, Valid Cheddira, a striker from Bari (Italian Ligue 2), saw that his shot was deflected by Simon’s good right foot reflex (104th). On the counterattack, Cheddira had another opportunity to become a Moroccan hero, but out of breath, he was unable to shoot (115th).
Spain then tried to find a way out before the penalty shootout. They came very close when Sarabia, who had just entered the game, made a deep cross, but the powerful ball bounced off the opposite post (123rd).
The Paris striker blamed himself. But not as much as a few moments later, when he missed the Spaniard’s first shot on goal, finding the post. His PSG teammate Carlos Soler had no greater success. This time, the goalkeeper Bunu repulsed the Spaniard’s insufficiently strong blow. As Busquets also failed to beat the Moroccan goalkeeper and Bunu missed, it was Ashfraf Hakimi who ended up with match point. The right side did not shake. Panenka, he led the entire Moroccan people into rapture and joy.
The Moroccans could launch goalkeeper Bunu into the sky of Qatar, as decisive as the Croatian Livakovic the day before. “We had a great match,” Walid Regragui can launch into the beIN Sport microphone before falling into the arms of his goalkeeper.
Next challenge: the winner of Portugal is Switzerland, for an already historic quarter. Before France in half?
Source: Le Parisien
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have a keen interest in sports and have written for many different publications. I am currently working as an author at 24 News Recorder. I cover mostly sports news but also write about other topics such as current affairs and politics. I have a strong interest in social media and how it can be used to engage with audiences.
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