Gambiaj.com – (MONTERREY, Mexico) – Yassine Bounou was the hero for Morocco as they defeated the Netherlands 3-2 on penalties in the World Cup round of 32, after the tie finished 1-1 after extra time.
The Morocco goalkeeper saved Crysencio Summerville’s penalty before Ismael Saibari scored the decisive spot-kick to seal a last-16 clash with co-hosts Canada.
That all came after Issa Diop scored a 91st-minute equalizer to cancel out Cody Gakpo’s opener for the Netherlands, who have now been knocked out on penalties at back-to-back World Cups.
It was the goalkeepers who stood out in the first half, with Bart Verbruggen making a fantastic reflex save to deny Neil El Aynaoui’s flick-on from a corner.
The Dutch shot-stopper was on hand again to tip Achraf Hakimi’s long shot over the bar, while Bounou did the same at the other end to keep out a fierce strike from Micky van de Ven.
Morocco were on top after the break; Hakimi crashed an effort against the crossbar in the 52nd minute before Van de Ven denied the Atlas Lions captain with a last-ditch block.
However, it was a Dutch substitute who changed the game. Wout Weghorst came on in the 71st minute and made an immediate impact as his header from a long ball sent Summerville through on goal, and the winger squared to Gakpo for a simple finish.
Morocco refused to give up and found an equalizer in stoppage time as Chemsdine Talbi’s in-swinging cross was glanced past Verbruggen by Diop, who managed to get between Virgil van Dijk and Teun Koopmeiners.
There was only one shot in extra-time, but it was perhaps the biggest chance of the match as Soufiane Rahimi dribbled through on goal before Verbruggen pulled off a stunning save to send the tie to a shoot-out.
Koopmeiners started the drama with a well-taken spot kick before El Aynaoui and Justin Kluivert both hit the woodwork for their respective sides.
Quinten Timber and Hakimi were then the next to miss, with the Dutch midfielder firing wide before the Paris Saint-Germain star hit the left post, though Bounou’s clever save against Summerville allowed Saibari to score the winning penalty.
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