Sports

Morocco stun Belgium, secure first World Cup win in 24 years

Morocco claimed their first World Cup victory in 24 years as they defeated Belgium 2-0 with goals by Romain Saiss and substitute Zakaria Aboukhlal in a boiling atmosphere on Sunday.

The Morocco fans gave the match a vintage World Cup feel at the Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar as Sabiri curled a wide free-kick past Thibaut Courtois before Aboukhlal netted in added time to put Morocco top of Group F with four points, one ahead of Belgium.

It was Morocco’s first win at a World Cup since they beat Scotland in 1998.

They left the 2018 tournament in Russia with a single point.

“We played against one of the best teams in the world with big players, but we know that if you don’t give 100%, it is impossible to win. With these players and these fans, anything is possible,” Morocco coach, Walid Regregui, whose team have not conceded a goal in five games since he took over in September, said.

Belgium, who had scraped a 1-0 win over Canada in their opening game, again looked a pale shadow of the team who finished third in 2018 and climbed to second in the world rankings. They must now battle for a last-16 spot against Croatia.

“It’s a difficult result. We couldn’t get our game going. It’s a game we need to understand; we need to be together and react. That’s what happens at the World Cup,” Belgium coach, Roberto Martinez, stated.

The Red Devils’ poor display even forced Martinez to send Romelu Lukaku on for the last 10 minutes in a desperate attempt to salvage a point, even though the burly striker had been struggling with a hamstring problem.

Croatia, who have a point from their draw with Morocco, play Canada in the other Group F game later on Sunday.

The Star