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Morocco creates history by beating Spain and qualifying for the quarterfinals stage after winning the penalty shootout at the FIFA World Cup 2022. The Education City Stadium saw a magical upset as the Atlas Lions made their first quarterfinals appearance in history. The first penalty was scored by Morocco's Abdelhamid Sabiri which was followed by Pablo Sarabia's miss.
Then the third penalty was scored by Atlas Lions' star Hakim Ziyech, who smashed the ball dead centre of the goal. The heartbreak continued for Spain as Carlos Soler missed the second Spanish penalty. But this was followed by a new twist in the game as Unai Simon pulled off an incredible save to keep La Roja in the game.
But the tide once again turned toward Morocco's Sergio Busquets missed the third penalty allowing the Madrid-born Achraf Hakimi to score the winner.
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Going back to the game, the 2010 World Cup champions had more than 75% of possession and completed almost 800 passes but failed to find a breakthrough within 90 minutes, sending the game to extra time. Morocco had the better chances which they missed in one-on-ones and, this led to a score of 0-0, hence a penalty shootout was required.
This was Morocco's first shootout at a World Cup finals, while it was Spain's fifth but the Atlas Lions goalkeeper Yassine Bounou turned into a national hero. The result means Morocco will face the winner of Portugal and Switzerland. This defeat also is the fourth time Spain has been knocked out of the World Cup on penalties and the second in a row.
