A roller coaster of emotions. This is what was experienced at the BBVA Stadium, in what was the last World Cup match in Monterrey. The Netherlands and Morocco took it to penalties, the second of Monday and of the tournament, a match that began with a clear superiority of the African team. Koeman’s men, who couldn’t find their game, tried to hold on with a goal that wasn’t enough to beat Morocco. The penalty shootout (2-3) was uneven with the goalkeepers: the Dutchman Bart Verbruggen, who saved his team for almost the entire game, condemned the Orange when a ball sneaked in that he had already saved; Bono, with a providential hand, thwarted Crysencio Summerville’s shot that gave the pass to the box. Morocco will face one of the hosts, Canada, in the round of 16.
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Bart Verbruggen, Jan Paul van Hecke, Virgil van Dijk, Nathan Aké (Teun Koopmeiners, min. 70), Denzel Dumfries, Frenkie de Jong (Marten de Roon, min. 109), Ryan Gravenberch (Quinten Timber, min. 85), Micky van de Ven (Jorrel Hato, min. 85), Brian Brobbey (Wout Weghorst, min. 70), Crysencio Summerville y Cody Gakpo (Justin Kluivert, min. 112)
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Yassine Bounou, Achraf Hakimi, Noussair Mazraoui, Issa Diop, Chadi Riad (Anass Salah-Eddine, min. 74), Bilal El Khannouss (Chemsdine Talbi, min. 86), Azzedine Ounahi (Soufiane Rahimi, min. 85), Neil El Aynaoui, Ayyoub Bouaddi (Samir El Mourabet, min. 78), Brahim Díaz (Gessime Yassine, min. 78) and Ismael Saibari
Goals 1-0 min. 71: Fork. 1-1 min. 90: Issa Diop
Penalties: 1-0. Teun Koopmeiners. Falla Justin Kluivert. 2-0. Wouter Weghorst. Fail Quentin Timber. Falla Crysencio Summerville. Neil El Aynaoui’s Fault. 2-1. Soufiane Rahimi. 2-2. Chemsdine Talbi. Falla Achraf Hakimi. 2-3. Ishmael Saibari.
Referee Wilton Pereira Sampaio
yellow cards Issa Diop (min. 46)
Both teams, undefeated and with seven points, took the field when the thermometer read 30 degrees. The Moroccans arrived in the city two days earlier, while the Netherlands barely spent a day in Monterrey. The scoreboard was a tight game, without rhythm or pressure on the goals. At exactly 15, Crysencio Summerville was about to put the Netherlands ahead with a shot when he was alone in front of the net. Shortly after, Morocco reacted, with two good opportunities that ran into the Verbruggen barrier. The Brighton goalkeeper saved two balls that were already on the edge of the line, both from the captain, with impressive reflexes.
Khannouss, Ounahi and generated much of the danger for Morocco, almost always on the left wing, and then retreated and contained the few opportunities that Holland generated. In a duel in which the goalkeepers have stood out, Bono had his moment to shine when he flew to repel a shot from Van de Ven at the end of the first half. A play that once again lifted the morale of the Moroccans with a couple more centers from El Khannouss, which he let go.
After half time, the entire game belonged to Morocco. Hakimi walked around free to make people nervous again and again. Orangeand Brahim Díaz went out to look for the opportunities he didn’t have before the break. Netherlands did not appear, but when it did it was in the Summerville studs. The lack of goals foreshadowed a long night in Monterrey, with both coaches clinging to their starting lineup, unchanged until after the second hydration break.
The arrival of the Netherlands to Monterrey has brought up old grudges. More than 12 years have passed, but the Mexicans do not forgive an alleged foul that Arjen Robben himself would later admit should not have been called, and that sentenced Mexico to a penalty that left them eliminated from Brazil 2014. “It was not a penalty,” reads the flags and t-shirts. “Penal era” the Dutch in Monterrey have been emboldened to paint on their bodies. A claim that is still valid, as the stands have shown from the first minutes. “It wasn’t a penalty,” shouted the Mexicans, who by far supported the Atlas lions.
In the second half, Morocco’s lack of effectiveness finally had consequences. In the 72nd minute, Summerville ran from one end to the other and found Gakpo, who was in charge of outwitting Bono one on one. In one of those stories that remind us that the heroes on the field are nothing more than human, Gakpo scored the goal for the Netherlands just a day after his pregnant wife lost the baby. His teammates, on the pitch and from the bench, jumped to cover him when he fell excitedly on his knees. Football can sometimes be a poem.
At that moment the spirit and emotions of direct elimination have come to light. The Moroccans, bewildered, took the game to the last consequences. Just when the Orange regained confidence and possession, Issa Diop sealed the tie that led to the inevitable extra time. The 30 minutes that have passed without further ado, without risks, beyond another miraculous save by Verbruggen that left Soufiane Rahimi (Al Ain) mute, who failed when he had just entered the field.
What had started as a close, heavy, and goalless match, turned into a breath-holding up and down of emotions that found its peak in the penalties. The Netherlands opened the round, with the first good for Koopmeiners. Both missed the next opportunity, and Verbruggen, who had been the figure of the night, made a mistake when a ball he had already stopped slipped. Hakimi could have accelerated everything, but he hit the post, until Bono restored hope with a save from the Summerville penalty. It was Ismael Saibari who sentenced the Netherlands (2-3). In the round of 16, the host Canada already awaits Morocco.
