Morocco v Spain Live Commentary & Result, 06/12/2022, FIFA World Cup

That's all for today. Goodbye.

Morocco are undefeated in their last five games in the World Cup and will now play either Switzerland or Portugal in the quarter-finals. Their defence have played a huge part in their success, keeping three clean sheets in four games.

Morocco qualified for the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time after beating Spain on penalties. Stuck in their third for most of the game, they went close through Aguerd in the first half before surviving an onslaught. Having just one shot in the second half, Bounou pushed away Olmo’s powerful effort before Morata missed the target with a header. In extra-time, Simon made a point-blank save from Cheddira before Sarabia hit the post with the final kick to send the match to penalties. Spain faltered from the spot, failing to score any of their three penalties. Sarabia hit the post with Bounou saving spot-kicks from Soler and Busquets. Morocco were cool from 12 yards. Simon saved Benoun's effort, but composed strikes from Sabiri and Ziyech, and a chip from Hakimi sent Regragui’s side through.

FULL-TIME: MOROCCO 0-0 SPAIN (MOROCCO WIN 3-0 ON PENALTIES)

3-0! MOROCCO ARE THROUGH TO THE QUARTER-FINALS! Hakimi’s penalty could not have been cooler. He chips it down the middle of the goal with Simon diving to the right.

Y. Bounou

Penalty Save

Bounou makes the stop, with Morocco now one penalty away from making the quarter-finals of the World Cup. Busquets, who failed to covert a penalty at Euro 2020 when Spain beat Switzerland, could be on the losing side today.

STILL 2-0 MOROCCO! Spain fail to convert their third penalty. Bounou goes to the right to palm away Busquets’ penalty.

Unai Simón

Penalty Save

Simon keeps Spain in the match with a stop. It's a tame penalty from Benoun and at a good height for the goalkeeper, but Simon guesses the right way.

SAVED AGAIN! Big save from Simon. He dives to the right, saving Benoun’s tame penalty.

Y. Bounou

Penalty Save

Bounou makes the first save of the shoot-out. He anticipates Soler's penalty, getting low to make the stop.

SAVED! Soler’s penalty is saved by Bounou. He runs up to the ball slowly, with his tame effort down the right pushed away.

2-0 MOROCCO! Ziyech smashes the penalty down the middle of the goal. All the pressure is on Spain now.

POST! Substitute Sarabia smashes the right post with the second penalty.

1-0 MOROCCO! Sabiri scores the first penalty, rolling it down the right of the goal with Simon diving the other way.

Morocco will take the first penalty. Sabiri has the ball.

The match is heading to penalties after the game ends goalless after exta-time. Both sides had a chance to win it, with Morocco's best opportunity coming in the 104th-minute. One-on-one with Simon, Cheddira struck the ball straight at the goalkeeper from close range. As for Spain, they almost scored with the final attack of the game. Coming on with just a couple of minutes remaining, Sarabia's volley from a tight angle hit the post.

120' + 3' FULL-TIME: MOROCCO 0-0 SPAIN

120' + 3' WIDE! Huge chance for Spain. Sarabia arrives late at the back of the box with his volley from a tight angle hitting the post.

120' + 1' There will be three minutes of additional time.

B. Benoun

A. Ounahi

120' Substitution for Morocco. Ounahi is replaced by Benoun.

Pablo Sarabia

Nico Williams

118' Substitute Williams is now off the pitch. He is replaced by Sarabia.

117' Morata runs forward with the ball, arriving at the edge of the box. He could shoot but decides to slide it towards Fati. However, he puts too much power on it, with it rolling out for a goal-kick.

115' Cheddira bursts down the left and looks to get a shot away from a tight angle. Rodri stays close with Laporte helping to shut down the space, allowing the ball to roll to Simon.

113' Balde's cross from the left is booted away by Amrabat. The Moroccan defence have been excellent throughout this game.

111' Saiss is down and is holding the back of his leg. It came after chipping the ball down the left of the pitch.

109' Morocco are holding on now. Spain are dominating the ball, with the substitutes throwing it back every time it goes off the pitch.

108' Rodri has become the first player on record (since 1966) to complete 600+ passes in a single World Cup tournament, with the previous-most also being by a Spanish player (599 - Xavi in 2010).

107' Soler's pass down the left is poor. He looks for Fati, but puts too much power on it. Goal-kick to Morocco.

106' Morocco get the game back under way.

Spain have looked more likely to score, throwing the ball into the box and having possession on the edge of the Morocco box. However, it was Cheddira who had the best chance to break the deadlock. Receiving a pass from Ounahi, his attempt was saved by the foot of Simon.

105' + 2' HALF-TIME OF EXTRA-TIME: MOROCCO 0-0 SPAIN

105' + 1' Soler's inswinging corner is punched away by Bounou. Llorente's shot is then booted away.

104' BIG CHANCE! Morocco should have scored there. Ounahi slips the ball through to Cheddira who is one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Under pressure, he strikes it low, straight at Simon who saves it with his feet.

103' Ambitious from Rodri. He smashes the ball well over the bar from distance.

101' Morata chips the ball from the left across the Morocco box. Williams attacks it but cannot get there, with it cleared away.

99' Fati runs behind the Morocco defence looking to receive the ball, but Hakimi comes across to clear it away.

Alejandro Balde

Jordi Alba

98' Substitution for Spain. Alba is replaced at left-back by Balde.

Ansu Fati

Dani Olmo

98' Substitution for Spain. Olmo is replaced on the left wing by Fati.

97' Williams looks for Morata with a cross from the right, but it goes over his head before being knocked away by Yamiq.

97' Rodri looks to chip the ball over the top towards Williams, but Allah gets back to head it away.

95' Great defending from Laporte. Amrabat finds Sabiri who is one-on-one with Simon. Taking his time, he gives Laporte time to get back and flick the ball away. The offside flag goes up, but it was tight.

92' Morocco are the first African side to go to extra-time in a World Cup knockout game since Algeria v Germany in 2014 (lost 2-1).

91' Spain get the game back under way.

The match goes to extra-time after the game ends goalless after 90 minutes. Morocco had the better of the first half, with Aguerd heading their best chance over the bar from close range. After the restart, it was Spain who controlled the match, with Morocco having just one shot. Olmo had a rasping effort pushed away by Bounou, with Morata also heading an effort over after coming on as a substitute. In the final minute of stoppage time, Olmo almost deceived Bounou with a cross-shot, with the goalkeeper getting low to palm it away.

90' + 6' END OF 90 MINUTES: MOROCCO 0-0 SPAIN

90' + 5' SAVE! Olmo's cross-shot is pushed away by the goalkeeper. Any touch from either Rodri or Williams would have caused the goalkeeper problems.

90' + 5' Late free-kick for Spain. Olmo is fouled by Ounahi on the left.

90' + 3' Big chance for Morocco. Ziyech's deep free-kick is knocked onto the air by Saiss. It goes towards Cheddira who completely misses the ball. It does not matter, though, as the referee had already blown his whistle for offside.

90' + 1' Soler's curling ball into the box finds Morata who has a free header. From a tight angle, he heads it well over the bar.

R. Saïss

Yellow Card

90' Olmo is fouled by Ounahi just outside the box. Saiss then receives a yellow card for a foul in the build-up.

88' Hakimi and Ounahi combine down the right, playing the ball between each other just outside the box. However, Hakimi's final pass has too much power on it, with the ball rolling out for a goal-kick.

86' Rare attacking opportunity for Morocco. Hakimi's cross is knocked back into the middle of the box towards Cheddira, who spins on the ball. With a defender in front of him, his attempt is tame, with Simon making a simple save.

J. El Yamiq

N. Aguerd

84' Aguerd has picked up an injury and will not continue. He is replaced by Yamiq.

Y. Attiat-Allah

N. Mazraoui

82' Substitution for Morocco at left-back. Mazraoui is replaced by Attiat-Allah.

A. Sabiri

Y. En-Nesyri

82' Substitution for Morocco. En-Nesyri has struggled to make an impact and is replaced by Sabiri.

W. Cheddira

S. Amallah

82' Substitution for Morocco. Amallah is replaced by Cheddira.

82' Morata flashes it across the goal. Williams slides it down the right of the box with Morata pulling it across the box, but nobody is there to turn it into the net from close range.

80' A cross from Williams from the right looks for Olmo who moved into the centre of the box. Racing towards it, Olmo is deemed to have put it behind, with Aguerd also sliding in.

78' A wild effort from Olmo. Alba's cross from the left is cleared to his feet, with the winger taking one touch before smashing it high and wide from distance.

Aymeric Laporte

Yellow Card

76' The first yellow card of the game goes to Laporte. He steps on the foot of Hakimi.

Nico Williams

Ferran Torres

75' Substitution for Spain. Williams replaces Torres on the right wing.

75' Pedri switches the ball out to the left to Torres. The winger looks to move inside with the ball, but is tackled by Mazraoui who comes away with it.

74' Williams is about to enter the frame for Spain. He is ready to come on.

72' Morocco are unbeaten in their last four matches at the World Cup (W2 D2). The only African team to go five consecutive World Cup games without defeat are Cameroon (W2 D3 between 1982 and 1990). They are holding on in this game with Spain looking the more likely to break the deadlock.

70' Great challenge from Aguerd. Olmo rolls it to Morata who looks to create space for a shot. Instead, the West Ham man forces him wide before sliding away the ball.

68' Hakimi blocks Alba's cross with the ball rolling out for a corner.

A. Ezzalzouli

S. Boufal

66' Substitution for Morocco. Boufal is replaced by Ezzalzouli on the left wing.

66' Laporte looks for the run of Torres, but the ball goes out for a goal-kick.

65' Alba is back on the pitch and will continue.

Carlos Soler

Gavi

63' Substitution for Spain. Soler replaces Gavi.

Álvaro Morata

Marco Asensio

63' Substitution for Spain. Asensio is replaced in the attack by Morata.

62' Alba is down and is holding the back of his leg. He collided with Ziyech and is now receiving treatment.

61' Morata has scored in each of his last three World Cup appearances for Spain, despite playing a total of just 126 minutes across those games. The only Spain player to score in four World Cup games in a row is David Villa in 2010. He is about to come on for Spain.

59' Pedri is tripped by Ziyech who goes steaming across the Morocco half to foul the Spaniard. The midfielder wants Ziyech to be booked, but the referee ignores his request.

57' Boufal slides the ball down the left to Mazraoui who cuts inside. Tackled by Llorente, it rolls to Boufal who slips just before taking a shot from outside the box.

55' Asensio plays the free-kick short, flicking it to Olmo. Away from the wall, his fast effort from a tight angle is pushed away by Bounou with the ball going up in the air.

54' Gavi beats Hakimi down the left with the right-back tripping the Barcelona man. Spain have a free-kick in a crossing position near the corner flag.

53' Olmo pulls the shirt of Hakimi who was looking to break forward with the ball down the right. He could be counted lucky to get away without a yellow card.

51' Spain struggled in the attack in the first 45 minutes. They attempted just one shot in the first half (Marco Asensio, 26th minute), their fewest on record (since 1966) in that time period.

49' Calm from Simon. With En-Nesyri and Ziyech pressing him, the goalkeeper passes the ball between the two attackers.

48' En-Nesyri gets his head in the way of the resulting free-kick, clearing it away for a throw-in.

47' Good move from Spain. Torres beats Mazraoui, playing a one-two with Llorente before getting his shirt pulled. Free-kick to Spain.

46' Morocco get the game back under way.

Spain have been patient on the ball, with Morocco sharp out of possession. With all outfield players in the Moroccan half for most of the first 45 minutes, Enrique’s side have pushed the ball around waiting for a space to open. Knowing the opposition's plan, Morocco have remained resolute, pressing aggressively to force Spain back and not allowing them time outside the box. As for Morocco, they have looked threatening on the counter. Getting their wingers on the ball, they have moved forward with pace, with Boufal troubling the right side of the defence with his tricky feet and intricate dribbling.

Spain dominated possession in the opening 45 minutes, but it was Morocco who looked the more dangerous on the attack. Having the first shot of the match, with Hakimi curling a free-kick over the bar, Mazraoui forced Simon into a save before Aguerd had a chance to score from close range. Latching onto a cross from the left by Boufal, the West Ham defender headed the ball wide. Spain’s only scoring opportunity of the first half came through Asensio, who broke free of the Moroccan defence before slamming the side of the net from a tight angle.

45' + 1' HALF-TIME: MOROCCO 0-0 SPAIN

45' There will be one minute of additional time.

45' Pedri curls the ball into the box from the right, but there is nobody there to attack his inviting cross. The ball goes out for a goal-kick.

43' WIDE! Morocco could have scored there! Hakimi's cross from the right is flicked towards Boufal by Busquets who tries to clear it away. The former Southampton man shifts it onto his left foot before crossing it to Aguerd who misses the target.

41' Great defending from Hakimi. Olmo tries to get on the end of a throughball, with the defender coming across to shield it out for a goal-kick.

39' Ziyech now hits a pass off the pitch. He launches the ball towards Hakimi who strides forward, but the right-back cannot get on the end of it.

37' Bursting forward, Ounahi puts too much power on a pass towards Ziyech, with the ball rolling out for a throw-in.

35' Torres has the ball on the right of the box. Looking to shoot, he is marked by two defenders, with Boufal coming back to block the space. As a result, the Barcelona man recycles possession.

33' SAVE! Simon is tested for the first time today. Mazraoui dispossesses Torres before unleashing a powerful effort from outside the box. The goalkeeper gets his body behind it, claiming it on the second attempt.

31' Rodri has his hands in the air after pushing En-Nesyri to the floor. He does not think it should have been given as a foul.

29' Spain are facing an African side in a World Cup knockout match for the first time, having played African teams five times before in the group stages (W3 D1 L1). The only one of those to beat the Spaniards were Nigeria in 1998, a 3-2 victory, a match that current manager Luis Enrique started for Spain.

27' WIDE! Big chance for Spain. Alba launches the ball down the left to Asensio who runs beyond the Moroccan defence. One-on-one with Bounou, he crashes the side of the net with his strike from a tight angle.

26' Bounou has been good with the ball at his feet but almost cost Morocco with a loose pass. Only finding a Spanish shirt just outside the box, Torres receives it inside the area and squares it to Olmo who sees his attempt deflect off the goalkeeper and onto the bar. However, even if it did go in, it wouldn’t have counted, with Torres in an offside position.

25' The tactics are clear to see. Spain are patient in possession, dragging Morocco from side to side hoping a gap will emerge that they can exploit. For Morocco, they have pressed aggressively. They are looking to win possession high up the pitch and break forward with speed.

23' Boufal is tricky. He beats Llorente on the left before seeing his cross knocked towards Ziyech by En-Nesyri. The Chelsea man shapes to shoot but decides against it, eventually losing the ball.

22' Ziyech's deep free-kick from the right is poor. Olmo heads it away with ease.

21' Hakimi hooks a cross into the box looking for En-Nesyri, but Laporte clears it away.

19' Alba rushes into the Morocco box from his left-back position with Laporte spotting his run. However, Bounou also anticipated it, rushing off his line to claim the ball.

17' Torress looks to fire the ball inside towards Asensio who is positioned on the edge of the box, but Morocco clear it away. They have been aggressive so far, frustrating Spain.

15' Boufal slides the ball down the left to Mazraoui who overlaps the winger. Looking for men in the middle, his cross is high and is claimed by Simon.

14' Casual from Bounou. Under pressure from Asensio, he waits until the Real Madrid man comes close before passing it off to Saiss.

12' Hakimi is over the free-kick. Just outside the box, he curls his attempt over the bar with Simon tracking it all the way.

10' Alba looks for Asensio in the middle of the Moroccan half but Amrabat rushes across to win possession. Moving forward, Boufal is then fouled in a shooting position.

8' Spain have never lost in three previous meetings with Morocco (W2 D1), with their two wins both coming in qualifying play-off legs for the 1962 World Cup in November 1961 (1-0 away, 3-2 home). They have had a lot of the ball, but have not troubled the Moroccan defence.

6' Chance for Morocco. Bursting down the right, Ziyech looks to beat Alba on the outside but kicks it out for a goal-kick.

4' An incisive pass from Pedri. Looking inside, he curls a pass towards Gavi. On the edge of the box, the Barcelona midfielder cannot control the ball, with Morocco hacking it clear.

3' As expected, Spain have dominated possession in the opening few minutes. However, most of their passes have been around the halfway mark, with Morocco holding a defensive shape in their own third.

1' Spain get this World Cup clash under way.

This will be the second World Cup meeting between Morocco and Spain – in the first, in the 2018 group stages, Morocco twice took the lead before drawing 2-2, with Iago Aspas scoring a last-minute Spain equaliser.

As for Spain, Enrique makes five alterations to the side that lost to Japan. In the defence, Rodri is the only one to retain his place, with Llorente coming in for Azpilicueta at right-back, Laporte replacing Torres at centre-back, and Alba starting ahead of Balde at left-back. The midfield trio of Gavi, Busquets and Pedri remains the same, with the other two changes coming in the attack. Williams drops to the bench and is replaced by Torres on the right wing, with Asensio leading the attack instead of Morata.

Morocco make one change to the team that beat Canada last time out. It comes in the midfield, with Amallah replacing Sabiri. En-Nesyri leads the attack and will be looking to become the first ever Morocco player to score three goals at the World Cup, with the Sevilla striker level with Salaheddine Bassir, Abdeljalil Hadda and Abderrazad Khairi on two goals.

SPAIN SUBS: Robert Sanchez, David Raya, Cesar Azpilicueta, Eric Garcia, Pau Torres, Alvaro Morata, Koke, Nico Williams, Alejandro Balde, Hugo Guillamon, Yeremy Pino, Carlos Soler, Daniel Carvajal, Pablo Sarabia, Ansu Fati.

SPAIN (4-3-3): Unai Simon; Marcos Llorente, Rodri, Aymeric Laporte, Jordi Alba; Gavi, Sergio Busquets, Pedri; Ferran Torres, Marco Asensio, Dani Olmo.

MOROCCO SUBS: Munir Mohamedi, Ahmed Tagnaouti, Abderrazak Hamdallah, Anass Zaroury, Abdelhamid Sabiri, Ilias Chair, Zakaria Aboukhlal, Abdessamad Ezzalzouli, Jawad El Yamiq, Achraf Dari, Walid Cheddira, Bilal El Khannouss, Badr Benoun, Yahya Attiat-Allah, Yahya Jabrane.

MOROCCO (4-3-3): Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Nayef Aguerd, Romain Saiss, Noussair Mazraoui; Azzedine Ounahi, Sofyan Amrabat, Selim Amallah; Hakim Ziyech, Youssef En-Nesyri, Sofiane Boufal.

As for Spain, they finished as runners-up in Group E after losing to Japan last time out. Thrashing Costa Rica 7-0 in their first match, a draw against Germany meant a loss versus Japan would see them drop below Hajime Moriyasu’s men. Taking the lead early on through Alvaro Morata, second half strikes from Ritsu Doan and Ao Tanaka gave Japan the win. Luis Enrique’s side briefly dropped below Costa Rica when they came from behind to lead against Germany in the other match in Group E before the 2014 World Cup winners equalised three minutes after going behind. Germany went on to win 4-2 to end the group level on points with Spain but went out on goal difference.

Morocco stunned Belgium on their way to finishing at the top of Group F to qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup for just the second time. Collecting seven points from the nine available, Walid Regragui's side drew with Croatia in their opening game before beating Belgium and Canada. A win today would see Morocco qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time, having been knocked at this stage in 1986, when they lost to Germany.

Hello and welcome to the live commentary of the World Cup last-16 clash between Morocco and Spain at the Education City Stadium.

Morocco v Spain Live Commentary, 06/12/2022

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