Morocco beat Haiti 4-2 in Atlanta on Wednesday to reach the World Cup last 32 as Group C runners-up. The Atlas Lions twice came from behind. Haiti, already eliminated, scored their first World Cup goal in 52 years.
Morocco beat Haiti 4-2 in Atlanta on Wednesday to reach the World Cup last 32 as Group C runners-up. The Atlas Lions twice came from behind. Haiti, already eliminated, scored their first World Cup goal in 52 years.
Haiti led inside 10 minutes. Jean-Kevin Duverne reached the byline and Lenny Joseph flicked the cross goalwards, the ball deflecting in off Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. It was the first World Cup goal scored by a Haitian player since 1974, but later FIFA recorded it as an own goal.
Achraf Hakimi equalised in the 39th minute, bundling home after Johny Placide parried Bilal El Khannouss's cross. Wilson Isidor restored Haiti's lead four minutes later with a strike from outside the box, and he became Haiti's first World Cup scorer since Emmanuel Sanon in 1974. Ismael Saibari levelled it again before half-time, his third goal in three World Cup appearances.
Substitute Soufiane Rahimi turned the tie on 78 minutes, controlling and firing home after a corner. Gessime Yassine tapped in at the death, a goal VAR confirmed after Haiti protested the ball had crossed the byline.
Hakimi, captaining Morocco throughout the tournament, summed up a chaotic night. "It was a crazy game, too many goals but we are really delighted to qualify for the next round and now we have to keep going," he said. "Haiti were already out of the competition but showed great spirit and made us suffer but in the end we did it."
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi admitted his side fell short of their aim. "We were looking for first spot in the group, but Haiti had nothing to lose and played a good transition game, so it was not an easy game for us," he said. Ouahbi also set out the bigger target: "Morocco has entered a whole new dimension, and we're part of a new momentum where we actually need to believe we can take the title."
Midfielder El Khannouss was more critical of the first half. "At times we lacked humility and paid the price for it," he said. "We weren't fully committed in the duels, we gave them confidence and allowed them to grow into the game and score twice."
Haiti coach Sébastien Migné left without a point but with his pride intact. "We showed that we didn't steal our spot here," he said. "We deserve to be here. I hope that what we gave the fans was good enough for them. Unfortunately, we didn't get a point, we would have loved to give at least a point to our fans."
Morocco and Brazil both finished Group C on seven points, with Brazil taking top spot on goal difference after beating Scotland 3-0 in Miami.
The Atlas Lions reached the semi-finals in Qatar four years ago and now carry that ambition into the knockout phase. Ouahbi made four changes from the side that held Brazil and beat Scotland, and his bench decided the result, with Rahimi and Yassine both scoring after coming on.
Morocco travel to Monterrey on Monday to face the Group F winner, one of Japan, the Netherlands or Sweden. "I don't have any preference, and there is not much I can do about it anyway," Ouahbi said. "They are three teams with three different styles, and we'll just have to be ready."
