The Mediterranean derby lived up to its expectation when the North Africans locked horns against Spain at the Education City in Qatar.
Morocco have appeared in 1970, 1986, 1994, 1998 and 20118 prior to the 2022 Qatar edition. This team should look to their 1986 squad for inspiration where there too were in Group F. They led their pool and were the first African team to qualify for the second round.
Madrid-born Ashraf Hakimi scored the winning penalty following the historic performance by Canadian-born goalkeeper, Bono. The FC Seville number 1 saved two of the three Spanish penalties, while one hit the post.
It is for the first time in history that Morocco has progressed to the quarter-finals of the World Cup and what makes this one sweeter is that the North Africans are led by a local-born current CAFCL winner, Walid Regragui. They become only the fourth African nation to make it to the last 8 after Cameroon [1990], Senegal [2002], Ghana [2010].
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