Ismael Saibari held his nerve in a dramatic penalty shootout to knock Morocco out of the last 16 and condemn the Netherlands to their first ever. FIFA World Cup exit in recent memory, as the Atlas Lions prevailed 3-2 after a 1-1 draw in Monterrey on Monday night.With the shootout nicely poised at 2-2 after four rounds, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou produced a decisive moment, diving to his left to keep out Crysencio Summerville’s effort. That save swung hard Morocco’s way, and Saibari rose to take the decisive kick, putting a composed low finish into the left-hand side as Bart Verbruggen dived the wrong way. The Netherlands looked on course to advance after Cody Gakpo scored in the 72nd minute, off a timely assist from Summerville. The goal sparked emotional celebrations as the Dutch bench rushed the pitch, with Gakpo in tears amid personal grief after recently revealing the loss of his unborn child.However, Morocco refused to give up. Deep into stoppage time, Issa Diop rose to head home Chemsdine Talbi’s cross in the 91st minute, forcing extra time at the Estadio BBVA.Neither side created a clear scoring chance in the extra 30 minutes, making for a tense shootout in a contest between two of the highest-ranked teams in the round — Morocco sixth in the world and the Netherlands seventh.
The Moroccan team started celebrating after winning the penalty kicks in the World Cup round of 32 match. (AP Photo)
The result ended the Netherlands’ run of reaching at least the Round of 16 in eight previous World Cups, including a quarterfinal appearance four years ago, while Morocco — who reached the semifinals in the previous edition — continued their impressive rise to the global stage.It was also the second penalty shootout of the tournament, following Paraguay’s win over Germany earlier.