Morocco moved a significant step closer to the knockout rounds on Friday, beating Scotland 1-0 in their Group C fixture at Boston Stadium thanks to the fastest goal of the tournament so far.
Ismael Saibari struck after just 70 seconds, beating the offside trap to meet Brahim Díaz’s ball down the right before thundering a fierce shot into the top-left corner. It was the earliest winning goal in any 1-0 victory in World Cup history, surpassing England’s third-minute strike against Paraguay in 2006, and the second fastest ever scored by an African nation at the tournament.
The goal also made Saibari the first Moroccan player to score in consecutive World Cup appearances.
Morocco continued to pour forward in the opening exchanges. Azzedine Ounahi’s teasing delivery narrowly evaded both Saibari and Neil El Aynaoui moments later, before Angus Gunn was forced off his line smartly to deny Achraf Hakimi. Morocco continued to threaten in the second half, with Jack Hendry needed to block a Saibari effort that struck the woodwork.
Morocco’s command of the contest was reflected in the numbers, their 601 completed passes were the most by any African nation in a World Cup match on record since 1966. The result was also historically significant for the Atlas Lions more broadly.
The win was Morocco’s sixth at the FIFA World Cup, level with Ghana and Nigeria for the most by any African nation.
Scotland, who arrived in Boston knowing victory would have sent them through to the knockout stage for the first time in their history, never recovered from the early blow. Steve Clarke’s side have failed to surpass the opening round in all 12 of their previous major tournament appearances, including European Championships.
Lyndon Dykes headed wide and substitutes Ben Gannon-Doak and Kenny McLean helped Scotland build late momentum, with Scott McTominay also seeing a shot blocked, while a stonewall penalty appeal, after McTominay went down under a challenge from El Aynaoui, was waved away by referee Ilgiz Tantashev with VAR declining to intervene.
The result extended an impressive run for Morocco against European opposition, they are now unbeaten in six consecutive World Cup group matches against teams from the continent, the best such run by any African nation, surpassing similar streaks by Cameroon in the 1980s and Senegal in the 2000s and 2010s.
With four points from two games, Morocco are now primed to advance to the round of 32 as they aim to at least match their historic run to the semi-finals at Qatar 2022. Scotland, meanwhile, will need a positive result against five-time champions Brazil in their final group match to keep their own knockout hopes alive.
