Morocco have overcome a huge obstacle in their quest for World Cup glory, defeating the Netherlands in the round of 32 at Estadio Monterrey.
Yassine Bounou was the hero for Morocco as they defeated Netherlands 3-2 on penalties in the World Cup round of 32, after the tie finished 1-1 after extra time.
The Morocco goalkeeper saved Crysencio Summerville‘s penalty before Ismael Saibari scored the decisive spot-kick to seal a last-16 clash with co-hosts Canada.
That all came after Issa Diop scored a 91st-minute equaliser to cancel out Cody Gakpo‘s opener for the Netherlands, who have now been knocked out on penalties at back-to-back World Cups.
It was the goalkeepers who stood out in the first half, with Bart Verbruggen making a fantastic reflex save to deny Neil El Aynaoui‘s flick-on from a corner.
The Dutch shot-stopper was on hand again to tip Achraf Hakimi‘s long shot over the bar, while Bounou did the same at the other end to keep out a fierce strike from Micky van de Ven.
Morocco were on top after the break; Hakimi crashed an effort against the crossbar in the 52nd minute before Van de Ven denied the Atlas Lions captain with a last-ditch block.
However, it was a Dutch substitute who changed the game. Wout Weghorst came on in the 71st minute and made an immediate impact as his header from a long ball sent Summerville through on goal, and the winger squared to Gakpo for a simple finish.
Morocco refused to give up and found an equaliser in stoppage time as Chemsdine Talbi‘s in-swinging cross was glanced past Verbruggen by Diop, who managed to get between Virgil van Dijk and Teun Koopmeiners.
There was only one shot in extra-time, but it was perhaps the biggest chance of the match as Soufiane Rahimi dribbled through on goal before Verbruggen pulled off a stunning save to send the tie to a shoot-out.
Koopmeiners started the drama with a well-taken spot kick, before El Aynaoui and Justin Kluivert both hit the woodwork for their respective sides.
Quinten Timber and Hakimi were then the next to miss, with the Dutch midfielder firing wide before the Paris Saint-Germain star hit the left post, though Bounou’s clever save against Summerville allowed Saibari to score the winning penalty.
The Atlas Lions Roar Again
Morocco were deserving winners, and perhaps should have sealed victory even before extra-time, but Mohamed Ouahbi will be relieved to see his side get over the line in the end.
They produced 1.4 expected goals (xG) from their 11 shots, five of which were Opta-defined ‘big chances’, as Hakimi proved to be a constant threat.
Morocco have now won both of their World Cup penalty shoot-outs, also defeating Spain in the 2022 round of 16, and they will no doubt fancy themselves against Canada in the next round.
The Netherlands, meanwhile, started a match with a back five for the first time since March 2024 (a 2-1 defeat against Germany), playing their 31 matches in between with four defenders.
The Oranje clearly struggled to find any rhythm, registering just six shots worth 0.23 expected goals (xG) across the 120 minutes, but the ever-reliable Gakpo got them in front.
Only Dennis Bergkamp (10) has scored more goals for Netherlands at major tournaments (Euros or World Cup) than Gakpo (nine), while only Johnny Rep (seven) can better Gakpo’s six goals at the World Cup.
Verbruggen did his best to secure victory, making five saves and coming incredibly close to keeping Rahimi’s penalty out, but it was not to be for Netherlands on this occasion.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Netherlands vs Morocco stats from their 2026 FIFA World Cup round-of-32 meeting at Estadio Monterrey in Guadalupe on 30 June.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Netherlands vs Morocco: Selected Post-Match Opta Facts
Neil El Aynaoui completed 134 passes against the Netherlands. In the 2026 FIFA World Cup, only Leandro Paredes has completed more passes in a single game (153 vs. Jordan).
Morocco’s goal by Issa Diop at 90:05 was their second-latest goal in a FIFA World Cup match, after a 91:51 goal by Zakaria Aboukhlal against Belgium in 2022.
The Netherlands now have seven players that have scored at least six FIFA World Cup goals since 1966. That is tied with Brazil for the second-most players with at least six World Cup goals on record, behind only Germany’s eight.
Cody Gakpo’s sixth FIFA World Cup goal is tied for second for the Netherlands all-time, behind team record-holder Johnny Rep with seven.
Achraf Hakimi tied Ismael Saibari with five touches in the opposition’s box in this game for the most by a Moroccan player. Hakimi has totaled 30 touches in the box in FIFA World Cup games, the most by any Moroccan player all-time.
The Netherlands started this match with five at the back for the first time since 26 March 2024 (a 2-1 defeat against Germany), playing their 31 matches in between with four defenders.
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