Follow Us on Google
Morocco secured a place in the World Cup knockout stage after fighting back twice to beat Haiti 4-2 in an entertaining Group C encounter in Atlanta on Wednesday.
The Atlas Lions finished second in the group behind Brazil and advanced to the last 32, where they will face one of the top teams from Group F. Haiti, already eliminated before kick-off, bowed out with a spirited display that pushed the African side all the way.
In front of a crowd of 68,239, Haiti stunned Morocco by taking the lead in the 10th minute. Lenny Joseph’s effort deflected off goalkeeper Yassine Bounou and into the net, ending a 52-year wait for a Haitian goal at the World Cup. However, the strike was officially recorded as an own goal against the Moroccan goalkeeper.
Morocco responded in the 39th minute when Achraf Hakimi capitalised on a goalkeeping error to level the score. But Haiti restored their advantage just four minutes later through a spectacular long-range effort from Sunderland forward Wilson Isidor, whose strike into the top corner sparked wild celebrations among the Caribbean supporters.
Other News
The lead lasted only until first-half stoppage time as Ismael Saibari, one of Morocco’s standout performers at the tournament, finished a well-worked move to make it 2-2 and register his third goal of the competition.
Haiti defended bravely after the break, with goalkeeper Johny Placide producing several impressive saves to frustrate the Moroccans. Yet the pressure was eventually told in the 78th minute when substitute Soufiane Rahimi found the net with a deflected effort to put Morocco ahead for the first time.
Gessime Yassine wrapped up the victory in the 89th minute after VAR confirmed the ball had remained in play during the build-up, allowing Morocco to close out a dramatic contest.
The result sends Morocco into the knockout rounds with confidence after finishing as runners-up in Group C. For Haiti, despite three defeats, the tournament ended on a positive note after they doubled their all-time World Cup goals tally and produced one of their most spirited performances on football’s biggest stage.
