Morocco stunned Spain in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw to reach the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals for the first time. After 120 thrilling minutes the two sides could not be separated and when it came to spot kicks Spain failed to convert any of their first three with Morocco goalkeeper Yaccine Bounou brilliantly saving two. Paris Saint-Germain's Hakimi tucked away a nerveless effort to spark jubilant scenes at the Education Stadium. Gulf News football experts discuss the brilliant match.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Golf News kicking back where the big news is that Morocco are into
00:14the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup for the very first time.
00:19It was an incredible match at the Education Stadium in Qatar where they played Spain.
00:25It was nil-nil after extra time.
00:27Morocco were doing all the pressing.
00:29As we know, Spain had all the possession.
00:31The match had to go.
00:32Two penalties and it was decided on the spot kicks and Sham, Morocco have reached the last
00:37eight.
00:38What a story that is.
00:40That is indeed historic.
00:42An African nation and an Arab nation in the quarterfinals.
00:47I think that is the first in the history of the World Cup.
00:51So like you said, the only way the match could have been decided is on the penalties because
00:57the entire match, there were not too many chances and Moroccan defence turned out to
01:03be impregnable for the Spaniards and the chances, the occasional counters which Morocco managed,
01:10they couldn't get past Unai, Simon and I.
01:14So which means the only way the match could have been decided was the penalties and in
01:20the penalties, Spain were pretty poor and it is only just that Morocco win this match
01:24and enter the quarterfinals to make a history for the Arab nations.
01:29Shamshira, that was heart, spirit and guts and you just can't argue that Morocco didn't
01:35deserve it.
01:37You can't man.
01:38They have been brilliant throughout the season because I'm saying season, the club thing
01:43is coming back to my mind.
01:45Throughout the tournament, they have only conceded one goal.
01:48That too, it was an own goal.
01:49It was scored by the West Ham defender again.
01:52The thing is that, like what you said, they have given everything on that pitch.
01:58They sweat actually the blood and you can't really take out anything from Morocco from
02:02that performance.
02:03And Spain, when you come to Spain, the talk has to be about Spain because I think they
02:08have had like 1000 plus passes and they could harvest only like few shots on target, man.
02:14See, possession without penetration is absolutely nothing.
02:18And that is what Spain has been doing.
02:20And when you look at the problem, the problem is perfectly when you look at that final third.
02:27Who is their striker?
02:29You can't rely on Alvaro Morata.
02:31You can't rely on that guy because I've been discussing about this for many years now.
02:36They are not producing proper strikers anymore.
02:39That's a problem.
02:40It has been a problem for Germany, Spain, these kind of sides, man.
02:44And even then, the Moroccan side, with the way that they were defending, I have to mention
02:50one name.
02:51Yes, the credit is going to go with the keeper, Bono, who has been brilliant for Sevilla also.
02:56But Amar Bahat in that midfield, man.
02:59He has given his everything.
03:01What a player.
03:02I was absolutely enjoying everything that he was doing.
03:05He was shielding that defence brilliantly.
03:07He was pressing.
03:08You know, we have seen Spanish players pressing and they have been doing that all the competition.
03:16But this guy has been absolutely monumental.
03:19So, what Sham has been saying, the first North African side, first Arab side to reach
03:26into the quarter-final, they have been deserving.
03:28They have reached into that quarter-final with a deserving head.
03:33It was an absolutely, truly superb performance from the Moroccans.
03:37And as Shamsu just said, 1,000 passes from Spain.
03:40Sham, it looked like Spain were, you know, keen to, happy to have all the possession
03:44of the ball.
03:45Like we know they always do.
03:46They have been doing this for donkey's years.
03:49But they just were not going anywhere.
03:51And as soon as Morocco stole the ball from them from the midfield, it immediately went
03:55to the flanks.
03:56Whereas, Yech had the ball, he was flying down the wings on the right.
03:58And on the left-hand side, the left-winger there as well, then we could see what they
04:03were doing.
04:04The plan was straightforward.
04:05Grab the ball as quick as you could from the midfield, put it out wide, get down to the
04:08wings, put the crosses into the box and cause trouble for Spain.
04:11And they troubled them from minute one, didn't they?
04:14They did.
04:15In fact, they were unlucky to get the score.
04:19On one occasion, Simon came up with a brilliant save.
04:22That was an extra time.
04:23And a couple of occasions too, they had very, very narrow escapes.
04:28Like Shamsu said, it's pointless having possession.
04:32You have something like 73% possession and it amounts to nothing if you can't get a clear
04:38shot at the goal.
04:39Actually, during regulation time, they had only one shot at the goal.
04:43That too, which came off a free-kick with almost firing one straight into the goalkeeper.
04:49But that was a single shot in 16 minutes, which is pathetic if you are a top-notch side.
04:55And Shamshir was spot-on about the lack of strikers.
05:01That has been a story of several sides and that's been the story of Spain for a long
05:04time.
05:05We don't have a David Villa anymore, we don't see a Fernando Torres anymore.
05:11If you don't have poachers and predators like Suarez or Klinsman or Van Basten or even
05:17Harry Kane, if you don't have players like that, then you are not going to score.
05:22And this is precisely what happens.
05:24You can have all the possession, you can play 1,000 passes, but there is nothing to show.
05:28Shamshir, we have to have a word about the Moroccan coach, Wali Dehragui.
05:33He's only been in charge since August.
05:35He's only been there for six games.
05:37But he's absolutely transformed this team.
05:39Honestly speaking, I've got to say, this may sound crazy, but now Morocco, on my tip, took
05:43all the weight for the World Cup.
05:45I mean, just have a word about the coach.
05:47How good is he?
05:48He's transformed this team.
05:49He speaks four languages as well.
05:50He's a smart guy.
05:51And he's going to be wanted, I'm sure, by some of these big European teams after the
05:56World Cup is over.
05:57Yeah, I think he has been a defender throughout his life.
06:01And you can see the way that they are defending properly.
06:03So maybe he has taught them how to defend.
06:06And the spirit.
06:07You have to give credit to that.
06:09Because defending is an art.
06:11People actually talk negatively about this kind of football.
06:14But this is actually very difficult to do.
06:17For 120 minutes to defend like that with the technicians on the other side, that has to
06:22be a monumental task.
06:23And you have to give them credit.
06:26And the formation and the set-up and everything.
06:28The shape of the team.
06:29The man, Regreggie, has done his homework brilliantly.
06:32And he has made them play the way that he actually wants.
06:36Even Hakim Ziyech, he had issues with the manager.
06:40He has been brought back into the team.
06:42And he has given his everything.
06:45I haven't seen Hakim Ziyech playing so well for Chelsea Football Club, man.
06:49He has given his everything on the pitch.
06:52And you love to see players giving everything on the pitch.
06:56When you are sweating blood, you love to see.
06:59You love to give a hug to that player.
07:01And I'm sure the Moroccan fans in the stadium, it was like a home game for them.
07:05It was like the match was happening in Casablanca.
07:08It was like that, man.
07:09The crowd was unbelievable.
07:11And it was like a club game for them.
07:13It was full of Moroccan supporters and the noise that they were making.
07:16I think all these things, the hostile atmosphere they created, everything came into the party
07:20for them.
07:21And it was unbelievable.
07:22And when it comes to the Spanish side, the way they were playing football, there was
07:27no urgency at all.
07:29Even at 121st minute of the game, they were like, three minutes added time.
07:34At 121st minute, you can see Busquets passing at the back side.
07:36And I was thinking, what is happening?
07:39You need to score a goal.
07:40And yes, obviously, they had a chance.
07:42Last kick of the game, it was a chance for Sarabia.
07:44And he hit the post.
07:45But apart from that, there was nothing.
07:47There was no urgency.
07:49And for sure, people will look back to Luis Henrique's tactics and all these things.
07:53Because this has been a problem for the Spanish side for many, many years since winning the
07:58World Cup.
07:59They've been passing around.
08:00They are not penetrating enough.
08:03Yeah, they've been passing way too much.
08:04You mentioned Sarabia.
08:06He was very unlucky in the injury time of extra time.
08:10That right foot volley came off the post.
08:12But then penalties, Sham, he stepped up.
08:14He's a left-footed player, by the way.
08:16And his penalty hit the other post.
08:19Just speaking about the penalties there, we saw yesterday Japan were very poor.
08:22Spain's penalties weren't the best.
08:24And the grand old man of Spanish football, Sergio Busquets, that was a really tame effort.
08:29Whereas on the other hand, it looked like Ashraf Hakimi had ice in his veins.
08:33I mean, just talk about the differences in the penalties.
08:36Yeah, I mean, Sarabia actually was distinctly unlucky.
08:41Actually, he took the best of the Spanish penalties.
08:46It's just that he hit the post.
08:48But the other two guys, that is Soler and Busquets.
08:52Busquets, that miss must have been his last touch in international football.
08:57I don't think he'll turn around for Spain again.
08:59So what a way to go for a great player.
09:01But having said that, coming back to the penalties,
09:04I don't think Spain were in the game for the penalties.
09:08Because they were pretty poor.
09:09Not just that, you look at the difference with Morocco's penalties.
09:13They were hit hard and straight.
09:14And you know, I think except the last one which Hakimi took was the Pananga.
09:21Other than that, all the others were pretty much powerful shots.
09:26To me, that's how you take penalties.
09:28And also, you have to nod off your hat to Bono too.
09:32I mean, his anticipation was spot on.
09:35The penalties may not be great, but you still have to anticipate correctly.
09:39And I think he's one of the heroes.
09:42Yeah, absolutely. Definitely, he's one of the heroes.
09:44Shamsira, Luis Enrique had said that his team had practiced over a thousand penalties.
09:49So how much will this hurt, having seen them go out in this fashion
09:52to some really poor penalties?
09:54Especially with those kind of players that we've just mentioned there as well.
09:57Who you would expect to stand up and be counted in pressure situations.
10:00But they've let the team down.
10:02They've let the country down.
10:04See, when it comes to penalties, obviously the previous history really don't matter.
10:10It's about the given day.
10:12But even then, when you look back, what happened in the Euros?
10:15Spain lost in the penalties.
10:17So that must be lingering in their mind.
10:19Even though you will say that it's on the given day.
10:21It's something that happens on that particular day.
10:24But still, that must be lingering on their head.
10:27And even when Biscuits came to take the penalty, you can see on his face, he was cool, composed.
10:33Okay, I'm gonna kick it.
10:35But deep inside, I think he was shivering like anything.
10:39And that penalty was so poor.
10:41For an experienced guy who has played more than 500-600 games for Barcelona,
10:46that was such a poor, tame penalty, man.
10:49Such a crucial penalty.
10:50He should have.
10:51He should have buried it.
10:52And I like what Shyam said.
10:53That's his last kick of the game for international footy.
10:56And such a sad way to lose.
10:58But for Morocco, I think they have practised it lesser than Spanish side.
11:04But they were accurate enough.
11:06Maybe what Enrique might have said, 1000 penalties and maybe they haven't scored 1000 ones.
11:12Maybe they have scored only 500 ones out of 1000.
11:15Morocco, they might have practised only 100 and they have scored 99 out of it.
11:20One they lost today.
11:21One they missed today.
11:22That's it.
11:23I don't know, man.
11:24It's incredible.
11:26Absolutely incredible.
11:27When you have this kind of dark horse stories, no?
11:29Underdog stories.
11:31That makes the tournament special.
11:33That makes the tournament special.
11:34And Morocco will be like…
11:36Yes, they will have so many injury issues.
11:37Aged is injured.
11:38Saiz is injured.
11:40But still, their head will be buzzing like anything for the quarter-finals.
11:45Absolutely.
11:46And they really deserved it.
11:47Because from the entire game, for the 120 minutes, they were really on top of Spain.
11:52And they had numerous chances to go ahead.
11:54Spain were hanging on.
11:56Obviously, they had a couple of chances themselves.
11:58But Morocco really deserved it.
12:00I was just so worried that, like Japan yesterday, playing so well,
12:04took into penalties but then let themselves down.
12:06Fortunately for Morocco, they've stepped up and they've kept their cool heads.
12:10And they've fired themselves into the quarter-finals.
12:13It's an absolutely historic night for them.
12:14It's the first time that they're ever making the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
12:18Sham, how far…
12:19I mean, I wasn't joking when I said,
12:20I really do believe that now, with the confidence that they've got,
12:24they could probably see themselves, you know, putting up another…
12:26The thing is, Sham, if they can perform like this,
12:29it's not just about getting lucky and getting a win.
12:31They're actually playing really, really well.
12:33From front to back, they're a solid team.
12:35They've got pace.
12:36They've got skill.
12:37They're very well organized.
12:38I really can see them reaching the final now.
12:41How far do you think they can go?
12:43I think they have the potential to make it to the semi-finals.
12:47Because they would either meet Portugal or Switzerland.
12:51Both are not in great shape.
12:53And like I said about Morocco,
12:57all through the tournament, right from the group stage and all,
12:59their energy level was so high.
13:01And like Shamshiri pointed out about the crowd support,
13:04the crowd support has been phenomenal.
13:06This is one of the…
13:10One of the, actually, features of the Qatar World Cup
13:13is the crowd support for the Arab nation.
13:16Whether it's Saudi Arabia, whether it's Morocco, Tunisia,
13:20the crowd support, it's like almost playing at home.
13:23And even today, if you look at the Moroccans everywhere,
13:27and every time a Spanish player touched the ball,
13:30they were whistling.
13:31So you can imagine what must be going through the Spanish player's mind.
13:34They must be such hostility.
13:38So every touch, they must have dreaded it.
13:40So this actually plays upon a player's mind.
13:44And I'm sure all the Moroccan players feed on this support as well.
13:49So I think the crowd support played a large part
13:52in lifting the Moroccans' morale.
13:56Not just that.
13:57See, when you have so much crowd support,
14:00you don't want to let the crowd down.
14:02So you play beyond yourself.
14:03You lift yourself to beyond your capacity.
14:06I think they played out of their skins throughout this tournament.
14:09And they deserved to be in the quarterfinals.
14:11And I have a feeling they might even make the semifinals.
14:14Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised at all.
14:16For Spain, it's a disappointing end.
14:17They started the tournament so well.
14:19They beat Costa Rica 7-0.
14:20But the 2010 champions are gone.
14:23Let's have a quick word about yesterday.
14:25Brazil was on absolute superb form as they tossed South Korea apart.
14:30They won four goals to one.
14:31Chamseer, what did you make of Brazil with Neymar back in the team?
14:34I mean, it looked like he made all the difference, didn't he?
14:38Definitely.
14:39I don't think he made all the difference.
14:41But he brought that confidence back into the team.
14:43And it was jogo bonito in a nutshell.
14:47Absolutely brilliant.
14:48From the first minute itself, South Korea actually tried to play a bit of football.
14:53And they tried to go toe-to-toe with Brazil, man.
14:56They didn't like it.
14:57And it was every attack that Brazil made, it was like, you know, it was going in.
15:02It was almost going in or it was going in.
15:04And in the first half itself, they could have at least scored half a dozen goals at least.
15:08But you know, the kind of football they're playing, it's scary.
15:11It's not only scary to the opponents.
15:13It's scary to everybody who's there in the stadium.
15:16It was unbelievably good.
15:19But the thing is that, I don't know.
15:20Because South Korea tried to play their football.
15:22You know, against Brazil, you need to be compact.
15:25You need to stop them giving space in the middle.
15:28Because it was a lot of space behind the defence they could have run.
15:33And Vinicius Junior, Neymar, Richarlison and all these players, you know, they have space.
15:38And the proper technicians, they were just utilising that space.
15:42But against the Croatian side, or a more compact side,
15:46I want to see them, how they're going to play against these guys.
15:48But yeah, Neymar as a talisman, he has given them the confidence.
15:52And it was brilliant.
15:53And goal by Thiago Silva, man.
15:57He's a defender.
15:59Mind you, he's a defender.
16:00But he was not playing like a defender.
16:02That pass was exquisite.
16:04Jogo bonito in a nutshell.
16:07Brilliant.
16:08Sham, you wrote a lovely piece on Brazil.
16:10You were very impressed by them yesterday.
16:12Weren't you?
16:13Absolutely.
16:15In fact, in the previous chat, I was complaining they were not scoring enough goals.
16:21Looks like they hurt me.
16:22And they showed me that they have the scoring tools.
16:27And the return of Neymar, I think, made a difference.
16:34May not be so much in terms of tactics-wise, but in terms of camaraderie.
16:41What you have to realize is the Brazilian players enjoy playing with each other.
16:46So they play well in each of those companies.
16:50They've celebrated well in each of those companies.
16:52So I think they're fed off him.
16:55His enthusiasm is infectious.
16:57So I think they love to have him back in the attack.
17:00So whether he set up the passes or whether he did any of his gimmicks,
17:05none of those things matter.
17:07The fact that he's on the pitch, I think, gives them a boost of underlanding.
17:11That is perhaps what happened.
17:12And I've been reading that South Korea have been playing into their hands.
17:21I disagree a little bit.
17:23OK, I don't know if even Shamsheer made this point about why they should have been organized.
17:28I think that would have been totally out of character for the South Koreans.
17:33That is not how they play.
17:35If they tried to play like the Moroccans today, that would be totally beyond them.
17:43It is not in their DNA to play them.
17:46They play aggressive football.
17:48They play positive football.
17:50They just punt the ball and run.
17:52That is exactly how the South Koreans do.
17:54So if they are trying to defend, I think they would have been much worse.
17:57At least they came out better in the end simply because the scoreline may not reflect it.
18:04If you look at it, Alison Becker has to bring up at least four brilliant saves.
18:09If it was not for Alison Becker, I think the scoreline would have been different.
18:13So there is no shame in South Korea losing.
18:17And it is just that Brazil were clearly the better side.
18:22I mean, they just deserve to win.
18:24And one thing I'm really impressed with Brazil is that we talk about their on-the-ball ability,
18:31but off-the-ball, the work rate that they are putting in, that is immense.
18:35Because the way the Vinicius unit is tracking back, Rafinha is tracking back.
18:38And there is a shield and defence.
18:40You know, like Casemiro is there.
18:42He just mops everything.
18:43He is a mop.
18:44And you know, the off-the-ball work rate.
18:46They are playing for each other.
18:48They are playing for the manager.
18:49That makes it really impressive.
18:55Just to interrupt you again.
18:57Assange made a point about Thiago Silva.
19:01Not just Thiago Silva, I think even Marquinhos.
19:03Both the centre-backs were in the rival penalty box.
19:07Yeah.
19:10This is the classic Brazil.
19:12But just a point about the work rate.
19:14I mean, Richarlison as well.
19:15He has been the unsung hero.
19:16He covers absolutely every single blade of grass when he is playing for the team.
19:20I think he is running something like 14km a game.
19:23I mean, he is absolutely everywhere.
19:24Box-to-box.
19:24He is not just a striker.
19:25He is doing all the legwork as well for the team.
19:28And yeah, they are looking absolutely fantastic.
19:31Shamsir, you have just come back from Qatar.
19:32Sum up the atmosphere.
19:33What has it been like down there?
19:34How has the tournament been as a whole?
19:36It was incredible, man.
19:38The stadium atmosphere is something that you just need to experience.
19:41You cannot really describe it with words.
19:43It was absolutely mental.
19:44Because I was watching the Argentina-Mexico game.
19:47And this was a group game.
19:49It was a must-win game for Argentina.
19:51But the noise that both set of fans were making.
19:55Absolutely mental.
19:56And when Lionel Messi scored that goal, the roof just fell off.
20:00Roof literally fell off.
20:02You just have to experience it.
20:04The way that they were singing.
20:05Even the Mexican fans.
20:06When Ochoa's name was told in the stadium, the crowd was making noise.
20:12Because he is such a hero for them.
20:14It is one hell of an experience.
20:16If you are a football fan, if you are not watching one World Cup game at least in your life,
20:21I think your life is incomplete.
20:22That's what I think.
20:25It's been brilliant.
20:26It's been absolutely brilliant.
20:27Right, guys.
20:27That's enough for us tonight.
20:28Our next video will be a special preview about the quarterfinals which start on Friday.
20:32So in the meantime, head to gulfnews.com for all the latest news and reviews.
20:36And of course, check us out on our social media channels.
20:39Thanks to Shamsir and thanks to Shyam.
20:40And we shall see you again next time.
20:42Bye-bye.
20:52Bye-bye.
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