World Cup: Morocco edge Netherlands in shootout
A stoppage-time header from Issa Diop helped Morocco peg back the Netherlands before eventually winning the match in a penalty shootout following what was a thrilling encounter. Get the latest with the Ligue 1 McDonald's team.
Morocco on top
On a sultry night in Monterrey, the Atlas Lions of Morocco took on the Dutch, and there were no less than seven current and former Ligue 1 McDonald's players involved for the victors, with Achraf Hakimi and Ayyoub Bouaddi starting, and the Strasbourg duo of Gessime Yassine and Samir El Mourabet coming off the bench. For the Dutch, Marseille's Quinten Timber was a subsititute.
From the off, the two teams' strategies were clear, with Morocco playing front-foot football in their usual 4-2-3-1, with Hakimi getting forward at will and the Dutch sitting deep in a 5-4-1. The match's first chances fell to former Lens midfielder Neil El Aynaoui and Hakimi, but Dutch 'keeper Bart Verbruggen was up to the task, as he was on a subsequent pair of chances for Ismael Saibari, and the first half drew to a close with neither side having broken the deadlock.
Issa Diop, deadly in the box 🇲🇦💥 pic.twitter.com/lkErjUV3h1
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) June 30, 2026
Diop with a stunner before Bounou plays the hero
The second half started as one-way traffic, unspooling in the way that the first half had, and Hakimi even hit the bar, but the Netherlands grew more dangerous after the introduction of Wout Weghorst, and eventually Cody Gakpo would break the deadlock with some twenty minutes to play. Morocco pushed for an equalizer, and just when it looked as if they were facing elimination, former Toulouse FC defender Issa Diop rose highest to head home a cross from Chemsdine Talbi.
Morocco then nearly won the match through Soufiane Rahimi in added time, forcing Verbruggen into a wonderful save, but penalties would prove the decider. After El Aynaoui had missed the first penalty for Morocco, Yassine Bounou would play the hero, saving from Crysencio Summerville after misses from Hakimi, Timber and former OGC Nice winger Justin Kluivert. With the win, Morocco will next play Canada on Saturday in Houston, just reward for a strong start to the tournament.
