By Toju Sote
Shocker Morocco Send Spain Out Of World Cup!
The Atlas Lions of Morocco have sent the much fancied La Furia Roja of Spain crashing out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Morocco defeated Spain 3-0 on penalties at the Education City Stadium after the game ended 0-0 at full-time.
Real Madrid forward Marcos Asensio missed a one on one chance against the Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou in the 27th minute while the Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon was tested by Noussair Mazraoui six minutes later.
Nayef Aguerd came close to scoring just before halftime but he couldn’t hit the target.
Dani Olmo also missed a goal scoring opportunity for the Spaniards in the 53rd minute.
But the game ended in a scoreless stalemate after 120 minutes.
Sergio Busquets, Carlos Soler and Paolo Sarabia missed their spot kicks in the ensuing penalty shootout for Spain while Hakim Ziyech, Abdelhamid Sabiri and Achraf Hakimi scored their penalties for Morocco.
Morocco will face the Portugal in the quarter-final after the Selecao beat Switzerland 6-1 in the other round-of-16 fixture.
This is Morocco’s first World Cup quarter appearance after previously reaching the round of 16 in 1986.