Qatar 2022: Bono the hero has Morocco lands in quarter-final
How Luis Enrique must have wished that Erling Haaland was on his side.
A lot of things about this World Cup are plastic, but there was nothing artificial about the roar that echoed around Education City Stadium when Carlos Soler missed the second penalty in Spain’s shoot-out defeat by Morocco.
It was louder than the cheer that greeted Saudi Arabia’s winning goal in their match against Argentina, and that was played in an arena almost twice the size of this one.
This sound was more guttural. The Saudis always knew that Lionel Messi could spoil their night at the Lusail Stadium, but here last night, there was no self-doubt among the Moroccan supporters, of whom there were plenty.
After holding Spain — and at times putting them under real pressure — over 120 minutes, those in their fezzes and their green-and-red ghutrah did not simply believe their team would win, they expected it.
They expected it because they had seen how wasteful Spain were in normal time. Luis Enrique’s team had 77 per cent possession, made 1,050 passes (719 more than their opponents) and had 13 shots but they were as off-colour as their shirts in the final third. Spain played in the sky blue of Manchester City.
How Luis Enrique must have wished that Erling Haaland was on his side.
That profligacy carried over into the penalty shoot-out. Pablo Sarabia, brought on at the death to take a spot kick, struck a post.
Then Soler’s effort was saved and Morocco had a 2-0 lead in the shoot-out.
At that point, with the roar still echoing around the stadium, Walid Regragui, the Morocco head coach, came off his bench, motioning to the ground with two flat palms.
Morocco still had to score another penalty to win, so he wanted his players to calm down. It was the most optimistic expression of the evening. The adrenaline was pumping through everyone’s veins, especially among the crowd, 90 per cent of whom were supporting the last African team standing in Qatar.
Badr Benoun could not calm himself. Unai Simón saved his penalty — but it did not matter. Even Sergio Busquets, on his record-equalling 17th World Cup appearance for Spain, had his attempt saved by Yassine Bono and Achraf Hakimi — who was born in Madrid — scored the decisive spot kick with a Panenka.
It was Spain’s third consecutive exit from a major tournament on penalties. For Bono, it was a beautiful day. That was the case too for the 40,000-plus Moroccan supporters in the stands.
Many more celebrated in Casablanca, Fez, Tangier and Marrakesh. It was the same story at the fan fest in Doha and in several countries across Africa and beyond. Given that they were the only African team left in the competition, Morocco had collected the supporters of Tunisia, Cameroon, Senegal, Ghana and Qatar too.
This was a win for Africa and the Arab world and beyond. The party was in full swing on Edgware Road in London, where the Moroccan community were out celebrating en masse. The Moroccan king, Mohammed VI, broke off his celebrations to call Regragui, the charismatic head coach of the team.
“For a Moroccan to receive that call from the king was extraordinary,” Regragui said. “He is proud of us and we want to do even better as a result. We fight for him and we know that he brings us strength.”
It was a defeat that chastened Spain. Marca, the Spanish sports daily, described the night as a “fiasco”.
Maybe Spain’s players had not been listening to Luis Enrique when he told them last year to practise 1,000 penalties before the World Cup.
In normal time, it took Spain almost 26 minutes to shoot. Marco Asensio hit the side-netting when he should have squared to Ferran Torres at the back post.It was the longest time that Spain had waited to record their first shot since 1966.
Out of possession, Morocco were solid and disciplined. They threatened too though, mainly through Sofiane Boufal, who left Marcos Llorente’s head spinning with a series of tricks.
Nayef Aguerd should have put Morocco ahead towards the end of the first half, but he headed Boufal’s effort over. It was a let-off for Spain, but still their play was passive rather than penetrative. Bono, the Morocco goalkeeper, remained untested until the 55th minute when Dani Olmo stung his palms.
Luis Enrique reinforced his attack by bringing on Álvaro Morata and Carlos Soler. Morocco retreated. They wanted to see out the 90 minutes and then reassess. Aguerd put in a crunching tackle on Morata to lift the Morocco fans, who were whistling Spain’s every touch.
At times, Spain were infuriating to watch. They gave the ball away far too easily, and there was no incision from the wingers, Olmo and Torres, who preferred to shift the ball to a team-mate rather than try to take on their man.
Hakimi sprinted down the right as the clock ticked to 90 minutes, but Walid Cheddira, one of three substitutes, could not finish. Desperately trying to cling on, Sofyan Amrabat blocked Nico Williams’s goal-bound shot.
The game went to extra time after Bono palmed away Olmo’s late free kick, which had threatened to nestle into the far corner. Spain continued to dominate but they were thankful to Simón for blocking Cheddira’s shot.
Sarabia was brought on for Williams in the 118th minute so that he could take a penalty, but he almost killed off Morocco at the end of extra time with a shot that glanced a post.
Busquets led a rousing team talk on the pitch before the shoot-out, but it was no use. Spain could not handle the pressure and all three of their takers chosen by Luis Enrique failed to score, granting Morocco their historic win.
