"FIFA": Morocco wins a football battle.

The official website of the International Football Federation (FIFA) highlighted the thrilling qualification of the Moroccan national team to the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, after their victory over the Dutch team in a penalty shootout (3-2), following a draw (1-1) at the end of extra time, in a match held at the Monterrey Stadium in Mexico.

FIFA's report confirmed that the Moroccan team won a "football battle by all standards" against the Netherlands, continuing their journey in the tournament and setting up a meeting with the Canadian team in the Round of 16, scheduled for July 4 at the Houston Stadium.

The match ended in a draw of one goal each in both regular and extra time, with Cody Gakpo opening the scoring for the Dutch team in the 72nd minute, before Aissa Diop managed to bring Morocco back into the match with an equalizing goal in the first minute of stoppage time.

The report noted that the encounter witnessed great intensity from the first minutes, as both teams entered the match with a high tempo, exchanging attacking attempts, before everyone had to wait until the 20th minute to see the first on-target shot, when Nail Al-Ainawi rose to a corner kick, forcing Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to make a brilliant save.

The FIFA website explained that the Dutch team, despite its danger, faced difficulty in penetrating the Moroccan defense, resorting to shooting from outside the area, where Mickey van de Ven nearly gave his team the lead before the end of the first half, but Yassine Bounou was alert and skillfully cleared the ball.

FIFA's report added that the start of the second half brought the best chances for the Moroccan team, as Azzedine Ounahi exploited a quick counter-attack and passed a precise ball to Achraf Hakimi, who broke through and shot a powerful ball that hit the crossbar in the 51st minute.

A few minutes later, Hakimi returned to pose a new threat, but Mickey van de Ven's last-minute intervention prevented the Moroccan player from getting a shot off.

The report confirmed that Morocco was closer to scoring for long periods of the match, before the Dutch team managed to capitalize on one of its few attacks and change the course of the match.

Gakpo gives the advantage and a final attack brings Morocco back

FIFA's website noted that the Netherlands scored the opening goal in the 72nd minute after a long ball from goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to Wout Weghorst, who headed the ball towards Krystian Bielik, before the West Ham player sent a decisive pass to Cody Gakpo, who successfully finished the attack into Yassine Bounou's net.