Half-time!
Better from Scotland
Out of nothing, Scotland conjure a couple of half-chances.
The first is fired into the stands by McGinn; then a loose ball in the box finds only white shirts.
There’s also a VAR look at a challenge on Ferguson but nothing comes of it.
Free-kick Scotland
A rare Scottish venture past the half-way mark leads to a free-kick. The ball is lobbed into the area but promptly headed away.
Scotland are yet to pose the slightest threat.
What a miss!
Saibari skyrockets a golden chance to go 2-0 up.
Perhaps he felt it should’ve been a foul on McTominay in the build-up (it should).
The only flaw in this Morocco side so far has been the finishing, except for the goal of course.
El Aynaoui whips over the bar
Some neat passing from Diaz and Saibari, but El Aynaoui’s shot flies over the crossbar.
Play resumes
We’re off again, with Morocco soon back in control of the ball.
Fraternising with fans in the streets of Boston. Photo: Selina Sykes, FRANCE 24
Diop is booked
Free kick for Scotland, a chance to move forward perhaps?
Nothing comes of it, and the referee decides it’s time for a hydration break.
Deafening boos for Hakimi
Hakimi is getting mercilessly booed every time he gets near the ball, but it doesn’t seem to affect him as he surges forward time and again..
Morocco are finding plenty of gaps on the other flank, too.
Scottish defence on the ropes
Morocco are slicing through the Scotland defence with alarming ease.
A loose ball in the box passes just behind the marauding Saibari and Diaz and Soctland get away with it, only just.
Christie stopped on the edge of the box
Scotland move forward, egged on by their supporters.
Ryan Christie tries to wiggle his way through four defenders but he’s stopped on the edge of the box.
Scotland stunned
It took just 72 seconds for Saibari to put his side ahead and the Tartan Army in Boston are stunned.
The Scottish defence was caught napping.
Goal! Scotland 0-1 Morocco!
My word! A great pass by Hakimi sends Saibari down the right flank and he blasts a cracking shot into the top corner of the net.
We’re off!
Referee Ilgiz Tantashev blows his whistle and away we go.
Morocco’s Hakimi plays despite being sent for rape trial
Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi is in the starting XI, just hours after an appeals court in France confirmed he must stand trial on rape charges.
The Paris Saint-Germain defender is facing allegations that he raped a 24-year-old woman in the Paris region in 2023, which he denies.
Scotland fans strike it rich with big baseball raffle win
Football fans are paying thousands of dollars for tickets to World Cup games this year but four Scotland supporters have been given a big help with their expenses after they won more than $10,000 in a raffle at a baseball game in Boston.
The four – two father-and-son duos – bought the winning numbers on Sunday at the Boston Red Sox stadium which was packed with members of the Tartan Army, a day after Scotland marked their first match at the World Cup in 28 years with a 1-0 win over Haiti, the BBC reports.
“We checked in the ninth inning. We had to do a double take,” one of the sons, Paul Innes, said after receiving the prize of $10,677. “The numbers matched. I think we checked three or four times. It’s just surreal. It’s not really sunk in.”
Tartan Army steals the show
Scotland are among the few teams at the World Cup without a nickname, perhaps because their fans tend to steal the show.
FRANCE 24’s Selina Sykes went to meet the Tartan Army in the streets of Boston.
The starting XIs
Scotland start with five defenders, compared to four in their opening Group C win against Haiti, with Nathan Patterson and Kieran Tierney being brought into the side as coach Steve Clarke bolstered his backline.
The Moroccans are unchanged from their opening match, with a four-man defence and striker Brahim Diaz up front.
Scotland: Angus Gunn; Kieran Tierney, Andy Robertson, Grant Hanley, Jack Hendry, Nathan Patterson; Scott McTominay, John McGinn, Ryan Christie, Lewis Ferguson; Che Adams
Morocco: Yassine Bounou; Achraf Hakimi, Issa Diop, Chadi Riad, Noussair Mazraoui; Ayyoub Bouaddi, Azzedine Ounahi, Ismael Saibari, Bilal El Khannouss, Neil El Aynaoui, Brahim Diaz.
…and when Morocco dumped the Scots out of France 98
But the Morocco game also brings back painful memories of Scotland’s last World Cup campaign in 1998 in France, when they played the North African nation in their final group game and were eliminated after a comprehensive 3-0 defeat.
