Morocco wins first FIFA World Cup game since 1998 after defeat of Belgium

Kevin De Bruyne correctly stated that the Belgian national squad is “too old.” It was once again phlegmatic in its second World Cup game, and Thibaut Courtois appears frail while playing alongside players who have mostly lost their amazing abilities.

In the 73rd minute of Morocco’s 2-0 victory at the Al Thumama Stadium, he erred in judgment and allowed a free-kick from Abdelhamid Sabiri to elude his grasp. This allowed Morocco to climb to the top of Group F.

He had earlier mishandled and allowed a Hakim Ziyech free-kick to go in during the final seconds of the first half, with only technology saving him when VAR discovered Romain Saiss was just slightly offside.

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Achraf Hakimi frequently ran up the right touchline, leaving Belgium a little out of breath. Morocco was prepared to give up possession but always posed a threat when charging forward. When Thomas Meunier misread an overhead ball, Sofiane Boufal took advantage of the situation to locate Ziyech inside the Belgium box. Selim Amallah missed his shot with a few minutes left in the half-hour, thus his cutback was ineffective. Soon after, Hakimi ducked behind the sluggish Belgian defense, but this time, the shot was again intended for the sky.

After eluding Azzedine Ounahi’s challenge and testing the goalie from a distance seven minutes into the second half, Eden Hazard finally showed signs of his old self to earn a corner.

With Munir El-Kajoui filling in at the last minute for the unexpectedly absent Yassine Bounou, Dries Mertens nearly scored the goal this match was looking for when he leapt past the obstructing legs to hit a clean volley from outside the area.

When Courtois was tricked by substitute Abdelhamid Sabiri’s left-footed free-kick, which escaped his outstretched palm to slip inside his inner post, Morocco’s tenacity finally found its reward. Saiss was not onside but was once more a nuisance near the Belgian goalkeeper.

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The other goal was scored in the second minute of stoppage time when Ziyech was able to score after Belgium failed to stop El-long Kajoui’s goal kick. In order to pass it to Zakaria Aboukhlal, he avoided his marker, but Aboukhlal’s close-range shot hit the net’s ceiling.

Although it wasn’t a classic World Cup match, Morocco will never forget this encounter.