The Moroccan national team qualified for the final price of the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in the State of Qatar, after its deserved victory over Canada, 2-1, at Al-Thumama Stadium, in the third and final round of the first round of Group Six.
The "Atlas Lions" team raised its score to 7 points in the group, compared to 5 points for Croatia, which finished in second place, then Belgium in third place with 4 points, while Canada is at the bottom of the ranking of the teams of this group without a balance of points.
Morocco and Canada match
The Moroccan national team took matters seriously from the start, so Abdelhamid Al-Basiri pressed Canadian goalkeeper Milad Bourian, who did not improve control of the ball, as it reached Hakim Ziyash, who lifted it with one touch from above the goalkeeper, to settle into the net at the fourth minute, To score the first goals of Morocco.
The “Atlas Lions” did not stand back and continued their pressure in order to consolidate the result, which was what actually happened after a long, curved pass from Ashraf Hakimi, in which he hit the Canadian defense, and Youssef Al-Nusairi benefited from it, who hit the ball hard to pass under goalkeeper Bourienne, so that Morocco advanced with the second goal. in the 23rd minute.
The performance of the Moroccan players decreased slightly, which gave the opportunity for their counterparts in Canada to possess the ball, and to form some features of danger.
And from the first misstep, the Canadian national team managed to reduce the difference after a cross pass from the left side of Sam Adekogbé, Moroccan defender Nayef Akrad turned its way into his country’s net by mistake in the 40th minute, despite Yassine Bono’s attempt to block it.
Al-Nusairi scored a third goal for Morocco in stoppage time in the first half, but the referee canceled it for offside, following Akord's intervention with the shot, a decision that was confirmed by the video referee (Var).
The crossbar sympathized with the Moroccans in the second half, which prevented Canada's equalizer in the 71st minute, after a header from Atiba Hutchinson landed on the goal line, ending the match with Morocco's victory, with two goals to one.
By ascending to the final price round, the Moroccan national team repeated the achievement of its predecessor from the eighties generation by reaching this stage, the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
Croatia vs Belgium match
In the second meeting, which was held on the same date at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium, Croatia and Belgium settled for a goalless draw.
Despite the Belgium national team's need to win in order to continue the campaign in the tournament, it appeared with a pale face and did not make any attempt on the goal, and the same thing applied to Croatia, which is enough for a draw to qualify.
English referee Anthony Taylor awarded a penalty to Croatia, before deciding to cancel it after returning to the video referee (VAR) technique, after there was a case of offside at the beginning of the game, and this was the most prominent thing that happened in the first half.
The second half started differently than before, and in the first five minutes of it, the goalkeepers of the two teams shone, as Dominic Levakovic, goalkeeper of Croatia, grabbed the header of substitute Romelu Lukaku, while Thibaut Cotroa, goalkeeper of Belgium, used his fingertips to turn Mateo Kovacic’s missile into a corner.
Kevin De Bruyne gave a silk pass to Yannick Carrasco, who shot the defense, to return to Lukaku, who hit the post instead of the net, to deny Belgium a goal.
Despite the attempts of the players of both teams to reach the net, their efforts failed, so the match ended as it began.
With these results, the Moroccan national team topped the standings of Group F, to await the second of Group E in the final price, which is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, at the Education City Stadium.
As for the Croatian national team, it finished second, to play in the round of sixteen against the first in Group E, on Monday, December 5, 2022, at Al Janoub Stadium.