▲ The Moroccan national football team celebrates their victory.
Morocco has advanced to the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America after defeating the "Oranje" of the Netherlands in a penalty shootout.
Morocco, ranked 7th in the FIFA rankings, played to a 1-1 draw against 8th-ranked Netherlands through 120 minutes of regulation and extra time at the Monterrey Stadium in Guadalupe, Mexico, on Tuesday (KST). Morocco then secured a 3-2 victory in the ensuing penalty shootout.
Having reached the Round of 16, Morocco will face co-host nation Canada in Houston on July 5 for a spot in the quarterfinals.
The Netherlands, which had reached at least the Round of 16 in each of its previous eight World Cup appearances and made the quarterfinals four years ago, is heading home early following this defeat.
On the other hand, Morocco, which wrote a historic chapter by reaching the semifinals at the Qatar World Cup four years ago, has signaled another potential run.
While both teams remained deadlocked throughout the first half, the Netherlands' Cody Gakpo broke the 0-0 tie with a goal in the 72nd minute.
However, with defeat looming, Morocco brought the game back to level terms with a dramatic equalizer from Issa Diop in the first minute of second-half stoppage time.
Both teams sought a winning goal during the 30 minutes of extra time but failed to score, ultimately leaving the fate of the Round of 16 spot to a nerve-wracking penalty shootout.
With the score tied at 2-2 after the fourth kickers, Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou gained the upper hand by parrying a shot from the Netherlands' Crysencio Summerville with his left hand.
Morocco's next kicker, Ismael Saibari, then successfully converted his penalty by completely deceiving Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, putting an end to the long contest.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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