Belgium 0-2 Morocco: Morocco made a big step toward the next round of the World Cup by beating a bad Belgium team and getting three points.
Thibaut Courtois was fooled by Abdelhamid Sabiri’s free kick in the 73rd minute, and Zakaria Aboukhlal’s goal in injury time gave Morocco a 2-0 win.
Belgium got off to a much better start than they did against Canada. They had the ball most of the time and were in charge of the game.
Even though they had a lot of possession, they couldn’t bother Morocco’s goalkeeper Munir. In the first 20 minutes, they only put one weak shot on goal.
After that, the African team got more into the game and had some of their possession, but they still couldn’t make any big chances.
In the 34th minute, Achraf Hakimi came close to scoring the first goal when he shot just wide of the goal from the right side of the box.
Five minutes later, Kevin De Bruyne hit a free kick over the bar at the other end, but he and the rest of his team still couldn’t do anything to bother Morocco in open play.
Just before halftime, Hakim Ziyech thought he had scored with a free kick of his own, but VAR didn’t let him because Romain Saiss was offside and in Courtois’ line of sight.
Morocco started the second half the stronger of the two teams. Ziyech came close again, but Courtois saved his long shot, and then Munir blocked a good shot from Eden Hazard. Amadou Onana went over from the corner that came next.
Back at the other end, Sofiane Boufal almost scored after Ziyech set her up with a cross-field pass. Her shot just missed the goal. After just under an hour, the underdogs seemed more likely to take the lead.
Roberto Martinez then took out Hazard and put in Dries Mertens. The 35-year-old made an immediate impact, and Munir had to save a good shot from the edge of the box.
After that, Morocco got back in charge, and Sabiri’s free-kick from the left side of the field went right into the back of the net in the 73rd minute.
After that, Martinez brought on three attackers, including Romelu Lukaku, but a second Morocco goal on the counter was much more likely than a tie.
Ziyech set up Aboukhlal for that goal in the last minute of play. Aboukhlal then scored to seal the win and put his country on top of the group.
Belgium 0-2 Player ratings for the World Cup:
1. Belgium (4-2-3-1)
Thibaut Courtois – 4/10 – He made a few saves, but he should have done much better for Morocco’s first goal.
RB: Thomas Meunier – 4/10 – He was terrible on both ends of the field, especially when he had to defend.
Toby Alderweireld, the center-back, got a 5/10 because he never looked very comfortable at the back, on or off the ball.
CB: Jan Vertonghen – 6/10 – Was the better of the two center-backs for Belgium, and he dominated in the air.
Timothy Castagne – 4/10 – Couldn’t deal with Ziyech or make things hard for Morocco going forward.
CM: Amadou Onana, 5/10. Fought hard in the middle of the field, but he was sometimes clumsy and couldn’t do much with the ball at his feet.
CM: Axel Witsel – 4/10 – Didn’t know what to do with the ball and lost it most of the time.
RM: Kevin De Bruyne – 4/10 – He didn’t do anywhere near as well as he does for his club and couldn’t come up with anything good.
AM: Eden Hazard – 3/10 – He looked like a shadow of his former self and was completely unable to take on players or make anything.
LM: Thorgan Hazard is 6/10. He was a good attacker for Belgium, who made some good passes.
CF: Michy Batshuayi – 4/10 – He didn’t do much, and when he did, he was sloppy, so he missed a good chance.
Youri Tielemans (for Onana in the 60th minute) – 4/10
SUB: Dries Mertens (60′ for Hazard) – 6/10
Leandro Trossard came on in place of Hazard (75′) – N/A.
SUB: Charles De Ketelaere (75′ for Batshuayi) – N/A
SUB: Romelu Lukaku (81′ for Meunier) N/A
Manager: Roberto Martinez – 3/10 – His team isn’t as good as it used to be, but making them look this bad is pretty impressive.
2. Morocco
Gk, Munir got a 7/10. He replaced Bono at the last minute but didn’t look nervous and made a few good saves.
RB: Achraf Hakimi – 7/10 – Belgium had trouble because he was so good going forward, and he had no trouble with Thorgan Hazard.
CB: Nayef Aguero (6/10): Had no trouble with Batshuayi and looked good all game.
CB: Romain Saiss – 7/10 – Led his back line perfectly, ensuring the Belgian attack never came close to getting through.
LB: Noussair Mazraoui – 6/10 – He didn’t do much going forward, but he was good at defense.
CM: 6/10. Azzedine Ounahi made a few good passes, but he never really stood out.
CM: Sofyan Amrabat – 7/10 – As he did in the first game, he looked better than the big names in the Belgium midfield and more than held his own.
CM: Selim Amallah got a 5/10 because he had difficulty getting into the midfield battle.
Hakim Ziyech, a right winger, got an 8/10 because he made a lot of chances, had a goal wrongly ruled out by VAR, and earned a really good assist. Who was the best player on the field?
Youssef En-Nesyri gets a 5/10. Worked hard but couldn’t give the Belgian defense any trouble.
Sofiane Boufal, the left winger, got a 7/10. He was probably the most dangerous player when he was on the field. He nearly scored with a great shot and was always able to beat Meunier.
SUB: Yahia Attiyat Allah (67′ for Hakimi) – N/A
Abdelhamid Sabiri took the place of Amallah in the 67th minute. He only touched the ball eight times, but two were key passes, and one was a goal. How about that?
SUB: Abderrazak Hamdallah (72′ for En-Nesryi) – N/A
Zakaria Aboukhlal came in for Boufal in the 72nd minute and scored a great goal.
SUB: Jawad El Yamiq (78′ for Ounahi) – N/A
Walid Regragui, the manager, got an 8/10 because, just like he did against Croatia, he set up his team to keep Belgium away and attack them, and he was rewarded for it.
Hakim Ziyech was the best player in the game.
