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FOOTBALL

Morocco beat Spain on penalties to reach World Cup quarter-finals

Morocco beat Spain on penalties to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in their history on Tuesday after the match finished 0-0.

Morocco beat Spain on penalties to reach World Cup quarter-finals
Spain players look dejected after the loss. Photo: Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP

Achraf Hakimi struck the decisive penalty to send Spain crashing out and Morocco into the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time, winning 3-0 in a shoot-out on Tuesday after a 0-0 draw.

Spain coach Luis Enrique had claimed his players prepared by taking 1,000 penalties as homework but Pablo Sarabia, Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets all missed from the spot and Madrid-born Hakimi dinked his home to the delight of Morocco’s raucous support.

Walid Regragui’s side will face Portugal or Switzerland in what is uncharted territory for them, with their previous best a last-16 exit in 1986.

Spain had been hoping they could repeat their 2010 World Cup triumph after reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2020, where they were also beaten on penalties by Italy.

The teams were closely matched through a nail-biting clash, with Spain having more of the ball but Morocco creating the better openings, few though they were.

Luis Enrique trialled his third right-back of the tournament in Marcos Llorente, and benched the team’s top scorer Alvaro Morata for Marco Asensio, after the shock defeat by Japan.

Spain monopolised the ball, with Morocco’s fans furiously whistling with their side out of possession.

Morocco, who are the last African and Arab side left standing at the first World Cup held in an Arab country, were intensely backed and their fans greatly outnumbered Spain’s.

With La Roja playing in a pale blue second strip, they resembled the away team on hostile territory.

READ ALSO: Spanish police on high alert ahead of Spain-Morocco World Cup fixture

Gavi, who at 18 years and 123 days old became the youngest player to start a World Cup knockout game since Brazil great Pele in 1958, rose to the occasion.

The Barcelona midfield terrier was at his most intense, smashing into challenges left, right and centre, even diving to make one with his head.

Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou tipped a Gavi strike on to the crossbar, though it would have been ruled offside, while Asensio drilled into the side-netting, although Spain created little.

Regragui’s side sat deep defensively and threatened on the counter, with Unai Simon beating away a long range effort from Noussair Mazraoui.

Toothless Spain

Sofiane Boufal, who bypassed Llorente like sand slipping through the Spaniard’s fingers early on, carved the best chance of the half for Nayef Aguerd, who headed inches over.

Bounou pummelled away a Dani Olmo strike from an angle as the tension cranked up after the break.

Luis Enrique raged at Rodri for choosing the wrong option on the ball, and withdrew the dogged and muddied Gavi for Carlos Soler.

He threw Morata on too, giving Spain a focal point up top, but they struggled to supply him as Morocco sat deeper and deeper.

Another substitute, Nico Williams did find the Atletico Madrid striker on one occasion but the angle was too tight and he scraped a shot across the face of goal.

Bounou made a fine save from Olmo’s free-kick as it almost snuck all the way through, with Spain finally creating stronger chances as the game frayed in the moments before extra-time.

Morocco responded in the additional period by finding stability and testing Simon, who made a fine save with his legs to deny Walid Cheddira after he broke in down Spain’s left flank.

Despite heavy pressure by Spain in the final moments before penalties, they could not trouble the Sevilla goalkeeper again, with Pablo Sarabia clipping the outside of the post, although he might have been offside.

Having been sent on apparently for the shoot-out, Sarabia struck the post again from Spain’s first penalty, after Abdelhamid Sabiri had sent Morocco ahead.

Soler and Busquets missed, while Hakim Ziyech scored, before Hakimi netted against his birth country to ignite wild celebrations.

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FOOTBALL

Spain romp past Croatia in opener as Yamal makes Euros history

Spain made a dream start to Euro 2024 as Alvaro Morata scored in a statement 3-0 victory over Croatia in Berlin on Saturday, with Lamine Yamal becoming the youngest player in the competition's history.

Spain romp past Croatia in opener as Yamal makes Euros history

The three-time European champions have often been accused of being toothless in attack during recent major tournaments, but produced an eye-catching display at the Olympiastadion to cut apart a disappointing Croatia.

Morata broke the deadlock in the 29th minute with his seventh Euros goal, moving joint-third on the all-time list alongside Alan Shearer and Antoine Griezmann.

Fabian Ruiz added a second shortly afterwards with a wonderful individual strike.

Yamal made his mark with the assist for Dani Carvajal to effectively kill the game as a contest on the stroke of half-time, while Croatia striker Bruno Petkovic missed a late penalty.

“Very happy with the win, for my (Euros) debut,” Yamal told La 1.

“We’ve got confidence, we’re a very efficient team and we’re showing it. We’re happy because all the work from the last few months has borne fruit.”

This repeat of last year’s Nations League final, won by Spain on penalties after a 0-0 draw, suggests La Roja are capable of contending for a record-breaking fourth European Championship title.

World Cup semi-finalists Croatia, though, have it all to do if they are to reach the knockout phase for a fifth consecutive major tournament, with games against Albania and holders Italy to come in a difficult Group B.

Luka Modric, so often their inspiration, was substituted midway through the second half by coach Zlatko Dalic.

Spain boss Luis de la Fuente named an exciting starting XI, including wingers Nico Williams and Yamal.

The Barcelona starlet, 16 years and 338 days old, beat the previous record for youngest player at a Euros held by Polish international Kacper Kozlowski, who played at Euro 2020 at 17 years and 246 days old.

“We are very proud to have Lamine Yamal, he’s got so much football left to show,” said Ruiz.

Croatia’s subdued start

Croatia enjoyed the vast majority of support from the stands, with their fans holding up one huge banner during their national anthem, reading “When we get going, heaven and earth will burn”.

But Croatia started slowly, as Spain dominated possession in trademark fashion.

Spain also showed their increasing versatility under De la Fuente with their first goal, as one excellent through ball from inside his own half by Ruiz sent Morata clean through and the captain made no mistake with a cool finish past a stranded Dominik Livakovic.

Ruiz put Spain in total control just three minutes later, jinking past two Croatia defenders inside the box before shooting through the legs of Josip Sutalo and into the bottom corner.

Croatia almost pulled one back immediately as the game started to echo the end-to-end nature of the two teams’ thrilling last-16 clash at Euro 2020, won 5-3 by Spain after extra time.

Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon got down quickly to keep out Marcelo Brozovic’s shot and Lovro Majer could only find the side-netting from the rebound.

Croatia continued to create chances, as Josko Gvardiol’s cross-cum-shot narrowly avoided both Ante Budimir in the centre and the far post.

But full-back Carvajal, who scored the opening goal in Real Madrid’s Champions League final triumph over Borussia Dortmund earlier this month, put the game to bed in first-half added time.

Yamal collected the ball after a corner was cleared and curled a delicious cross into the middle for Carvajal to stretch and stab home his first international goal on the volley.

Yamal was denied another record for youngest Euros scorer when Livakovic produced a fine save to turn away his low effort early in the second half.

Marc Cucurella, a controversial selection by De la Fuente at left-back, made a goal-saving block to prevent Josip Stanisic giving Croatia hope.

Substitute Petkovic thought he had pulled one back late on when he tapped in after his penalty was saved by Simon.

But the goal was ruled out by VAR for encroachment by Ivan Perisic as Spain added a clean sheet to an almost perfect outing.

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