Morocco defeats Haiti 4:2 and advances to round of 16 as group runner-up

Lineups and substitutions

The goal also marked a historic moment for Haiti: it was the Caribbean nation's first World Cup goal in 52 years and only the third ever at a World Cup. At their first World Cup appearance in 1974, the island nation had scored two goals – „both by record national team player Emmanuel Sanon," as the dpa news channel noted. Haiti's players had arrived „dancing in the arena" despite their early elimination, as reporters observed.

Morocco needed a few minutes to settle into the game. Coach Ouahbi had rotated four positions compared to the Scotland match: Anass Salah-Eddine pushed former Bayern professional Noussair Mazraoui to the bench, while El Kaabi, Sofyan Amrabat, and Redouane Halhal replaced Azzedine Ounahi, Ayyoub Bouaddi, and Issa Diop. Haiti's coach Sébastien Migné, the Frenchman on the sidelines, also made two changes, bringing in two new attackers to the starting lineup with Lenny Joseph from Hungarian club Ferencváros Budapest and Wilson Isidor.

Turning point before and after the break

The equalizer came in the 39th minute through captain Achraf Hakimi, who scored from short range. Earlier, Bilal El Khannouss of VfB Stuttgart had „struck from a tight angle," as the dpa live ticker noted. „After the equalizer by Achraf Hakimi (39th)," his team had increasingly taken control of the game, it was said further. But before the break, the Haitians struck again: Wilson Isidor hit a powerful shot from 25.2 meters into the upper left corner of the net in the 43rd minute – „Isidor's reply with a 126 km/h thunderbolt."

Just before the interval, Morocco's Saibari saved his team from falling behind when, in the first half, he missed a great chance for the equalizer from very close range at the five-yard box after a corner, heading over the bar with the goal at his mercy. The live commentary put it dramatically: „Ismael Saibari had the 1:1 at his feet! After a corner, he finds himself unmarked at the five-yard box to shoot and completely miscues the ball over the bar." But in first-half stoppage time (45+1), Saibari finally did get the equalizer to make it 2:2, his third tournament goal after scoring against Brazil and Scotland.

Substitutes decide

With the 2:2 at halftime, an open game presented itself for Morocco, with the North Africans increasingly taking control in the second half. In the course of the second half, the 68,239 fans in the cooled-down stadium in Atlanta were treated to „The 68,239 fans in Atlanta went wild," the reporter described the atmosphere after the later goals. In the 70th minute, Ouahbi brought on fresh attacking forces with Rahimi, Ounahi, and Yassine, which would pay off.

Soufiane Rahimi, the 30-year-old striker, scored the 3:2 for Morocco in the 78th minute from a corner, ushering in the decision. Just about ten minutes later, in the 89th minute, the substitute Gessime Yassine made it 4:2 for the final score. Both goals were scored by players who had come into the game during the match. Ricardo Ade also nearly scored another own goal in the 65th minute, which could have tipped the game once again.

Standings and outlook

Haiti's coach Sébastien Migné made five substitutions in the second half: Nazon came on in the 67th minute for Providence, Deedson replaced Isidor also in the 67th minute, in the 80th minute Migné brought on two fresh attacking forces with Arcus and Simon, before Pierrott came on for Joseph in the 83rd minute. Yellow cards were shown to Haiti's Nazon, Placide, and Casimir; no Moroccan player was booked. The referee for the match was Danny Makkelie from Curaçao.

Haiti's goalkeeper Johny Placide, already 38 years old and serving the national team, had kept his team in the game for long stretches of the first half, defusing several Moroccan chances. Haiti's coach Sébastien Migné, who has been in charge since March 2024 and had fielded a different starting eleven in 25 of 27 matches, could not prevent the defeat despite all his changes. „Near-upset instead of group win: Morocco beat the extreme underdog Haiti 4:2 (2:2) with difficulty in its final group-stage match," dpa succinctly summarized the course of the game.

With the win, Morocco takes its tally to four points in Group C and thus advances to the knockout stage as runner-up behind record world champion Brazil. Brazil had beaten Scotland 3:0 (2:0) in the parallel match, thus defending the top spot in the group. „Brazil and Morocco each have four points to their account and are dueling in a remote battle with Scotland, which has three points, for the win. … Haiti is eliminated as group runner-up with two defeats from two games," the dpa live ticker explained the group situation.

Circumstances and history

Morocco faces the winner of Group F in the round of 16. Possible opponents are the Netherlands, Japan, or Sweden. For coach Mohamed Ouahbi's team, it is the third World Cup knockout stage appearance ever after 1986 and the historic semifinal run in 2022. Back then, Morocco had become the first African and first Arab team to reach a World Cup semifinal, ultimately finishing in fourth place.

The victory was accompanied by an unpleasant personal aftertaste: captain Achraf Hakimi, who had scored the interim equalizer, „who will soon have to answer to court on a rape accusation," as the dpa report noted. The Paris Saint-Germain professional thus faces court proceedings parallel to the tournament. The report contained no information on ongoing investigations or the status of the proceedings.

Despite all the side noise, Morocco's squad now has its first knockout match on the schedule after a tough group stage. „Mohamed Ouahbi's team noticeably upped the tempo after conceding," the reporter praised his team's reaction. For Haiti, the tournament ends with the third defeat – the team says goodbye to a World Cup for only the second time after 1974 and with the knowledge of having at least scored a historic goal.