Ismael Saibari was once again decisive for Morocco in the World Cup.
After scoring in the draw against Brazil on his debut, the striker scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Scotland this Friday (19), in Boston, and left Group C open for the final round.
Now, the African team is in a favorable position in the fight for a place in the round of 32 (the first knockout stage of this World Cup): it was, at least temporarily, in first place in the group, followed by Scotland and Brazil and Haiti, who would still play this Friday.
The move that defined the match happened in the first Moroccan attack. Brahim Díaz launched behind the Scottish defense, Saibari advanced freely down the right and hit Angus Gunn hard. The ball even touched the bottom of the crossbar before entering.
It was the fastest goal of this World Cup, at 69 seconds.
The performance repeated the script seen against Brazil. Just like in their debut, the Moroccans started the match with high intensity, putting pressure on the opponent’s ball and exploiting the speed of their attackers.
Scotland took a while to react to the impact of the goal and spent much of the first half without being able to threaten goalkeeper Bono.
The British’s best opportunities only came in the final minutes of the opening stage.
Che Adams wasted a deep ball and, shortly after, John McGinn finished from inside the area.
In the second half, Morocco once again created the main chance of the match. After a corner kick from Achraf Hakimi, El Khannouss headed the ball away and forced Gunn to make a save on the line.
Scotland recovered in the final minutes and forced the Moroccan defense down to midfield, but the chances did not materialize.
During the game, the Scottish team tried to ask for a penalty on two occasions — both ignored by the referee.
The defeat could complicate life for the Scots in the group.
The European team entered the field with the possibility of guaranteeing, for the first time, qualification for the knockout phase of a World Cup. In their eight previous appearances, they never managed to get beyond the group stage.
The result also brought back a historic coincidence between the two teams. Before the current edition, Scotland’s last match in a World Cup had been against Morocco.
In 1998, in France, the Africans won 3-0 in the final round of the group stage. Neither team advanced on that occasion. Brazil and Norway took the places in the group.
The definition of Group C will continue to the last round, on Wednesday (24). Morocco will face Haiti, in Atlanta, while Scotland will face Brazil, in Miami.
