RIYADH: Questions will most certainly be asked of Mohamed Ouahbi’s Atlas Lions tonight. A 4-2 victory over Haiti may have been enough to confirm their spot in the Round of 32, but after an opening draw with Brazil and a valuable victory against Scotland, Moroccan fans will have felt top spot was there for the taking.
Brazil’s 3-0 sweep of Haiti last week meant Morocco needed to match or better that scoreline while hoping Scotland could limit the Selecao in their encounter.
But matters quickly went awry for the Atlas Lions in the Haiti encounter, while Vinicius Junior and Matheus Cunha led Brazil to a comfortable win against Scotland.
Ouahbi made changes for this match, knowing that Morocco’s Round of 32 chances with four points were all but guaranteed.
Redouane Halhal replaced Issa Diop in defense, while Noussair Mazraoui made way for Anass Salaheddine.
Sofyan Amrabat made his first start of the tournament in place of young star Ayyoub Bouaddi, while Ayoub El-Kaabi led the line.
Those changes, in hindsight, may have contributed to Morocco’s first-half collapse. But no one could take away from the performance Haiti produced on the day, despite already having been eliminated from the tournament.
Les Grenadiers pressed Morocco more aggressively than both Scotland and Brazil, and it paid off.
As early as the ninth minute, Salaheddine was beaten by Jean-Kevin Duverne, who delivered a low cross into the box that Yassine Bounou bundled into his own net under pressure from Lenny Joseph.
Morocco still brought the pace expected from this team, but were made to rue early missed chances, with Ismael Saibari spurning a golden opportunity in the 13th minute after Bilal El-Khannouss dribbled into the box and laid the ball into his path.
At the half-hour mark, Achraf Hakimi was found darting toward goal with a through ball, only for Johny Placide to push his effort away with his feet before El-Kaabi’s follow-up was parried away for a corner.
It was El-Khannouss’s dribbling ability that eventually brought Morocco back into the game. His cut inside and follow-up shot were parried by Placide into the 6-yard box, where Hakimi bundled the ball over the line through a congested area in the 39th minute.
Haiti caught Morocco off guard once again just minutes later. Wilson Isidor tested Bounou from range with a thunderous strike that flew past the goalkeeper to restore Haiti’s lead.
The lead, however, lasted only minutes. Hakimi was once again released down the right flank, and his low cross into the box was finished by Saibari, who became the first Arab player in history to score in all three group games at a World Cup.
With his third World Cup goal, Saibari also became the all-time joint World Cup top scorer among Arab players.
In Miami, Brazil were firmly in the lead at this point, meaning Morocco’s hopes of finishing top had become increasingly slim. Two first-half goals from Vinicius Junior kept Brazil flying high at the summit of Group C.
Morocco eventually grabbed control of the game in the second half, but Brahim Diaz’s miss in first-half stoppage time continued to linger in the minds of supporters.
It would not be Diaz who changed the game for Morocco, but their second-half substitutes. In the 70th minute, Al-Ain’s Soufiane Rahimi scored within minutes of coming on, controlling the ball in the box before seeing his effort deflect into the net to put Morocco 3-2 up.
Rahimi was involved in Morocco’s fourth in the 89th minute, winning the ball off Carlens Arcus on the byline before setting up fellow substitute Gessime Yassine for his maiden World Cup goal to seal the victory.
Back in Miami, Matheus Cunha sealed Brazil’s victory on the hour mark, before Neymar made his return to the pitch, replacing the former in the 76th minute to help see out the win.
Group C finished with Brazil top on seven points, edging Morocco on goal difference, with the Atlas Lions also ending on seven.
Scotland finished third on three points, and must now await other results later this week to discover whether they have done enough to reach the Round of 32. Haiti produced a valiant performance, but finished the group stage without a point.
