Morocco stuns Belgium with two late goals, sets up Group F chaos
DOHA, Qatar — The latest shock of a World Cup filled with them threw Group F into chaos Sunday, as Morocco stunned world No. 2 Belgium 2-0, thanks to a pair of dramatic goals from Abdelhamid Sabiri and Zakaria Aboukhlal.
Spurred by a passionate crowd at Al Thumama Stadium, Morocco pushed itself to the brink of qualification for the round of 16 — a tie against Canada on Thursday would make sure of it — as an underdog roared once more.
Belgium, regarded as a solid outside pick of the tournament and with a stacked squad seen as that country’s golden generation, was unable to capitalize on the possession dominance and came unstuck uncharacteristically as the second half wore on.
Sabiri whipped in a free kick from the left, and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, off his line, was unable to prevent it from spinning into the net.
Abdelhamid Sabiri gives Morocco the lead
Morocco’s Abdelhamid Sabiri scores against Belgium in the 73rd minute.
Desperate to fight its way back into it, Belgium got caught out late. Pressing men forward, the Belgians were hit on the counter as Hakim Ziyech controlled the ball expertly and slid it to Aboukhlal, who made no mistake from close range.
The other teams in the group, Croatia and Canada were due to clash later Sunday, but whatever the result in that match, it sets up a mouthwatering final day of action, with the growing likelihood that either Croatia, the runner-up four years ago, or Belgium will be headed for an early exit from the competition.
“It’s a difficult result because the first goal affected the outcome a lot,” Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said. “It’s a dead-ball situation, we couldn’t get our game going, and it’s a game that we need to understand. We need to be together and react in the next game. That’s what happens in the World Cup.”
Other shocking results in the first week included Saudi Arabia’s triumph over Argentina and Japan’s win against Germany.
Belgium-Morocco highlights
Morocco won its first World Cup match since 1998.
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Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.
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