Published on 6/30/2026
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Last update: 09:20 (Mecca time)
The Moroccan national team achieved a remarkable achievement by defeating the Dutch national team on penalties from the penalty spot, after their match in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup ended in a positive draw 1-1 in both regular and extra time.
Moroccan individual franchise
During the match, Moroccan midfield star Nael El Aynaoui made 134 successful passes, and in the 2026 World Cup, only Leandro Paredes made more successful passes in a single match (153 against Jordan).
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While Morocco’s goal, scored by Issa Diop in the 90:05 minute, was the team’s second-latest goal in the history of its participation in the World Cup, after Zakaria Abou Khalal’s goal in the 91:51 minute against Belgium in 2022.
Ashraf Hakimi equaled Ismail Sibari’s record with five touches inside the opponent’s penalty area in this match, as the most Moroccan player has achieved this number in a single match. Hakimi also reached 30 touches inside the penalty area in World Cup matches, which is the highest number for any Moroccan player in the history of the tournament.
The Moroccan team made 104 successful passes before reaching the water break, compared to 85 for the Netherlands. In the group stage matches, Morocco completed 443 passes before the first water breaks, the fifth highest number in the tournament.
A Dutch reservation led to defeat
The Netherlands now have seven players who have scored at least six goals in a World Cup since 1966, a number that equals Brazil as the second most-placed team to have players who have scored six or more goals in the tournament, behind Germany, who have eight.
This is Cody Gakpo’s sixth goal in the World Cup, making him tied for second place on the list of all-time Dutch scorers in the tournament, behind Johnny Rep, who holds the record with seven goals. Gakpo is the third player to score three or more goals in the 2022 and 2026 World Cups after Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
The Netherlands did not concede a single goal in the first half during this year’s World Cup, and had scored four goals before today’s match, which equals the best goal difference in the first half in this edition of the tournament with four other teams (Brazil, United States, Spain, Argentina). The Netherlands also kept a clean sheet in the first half during four matches in the 1990 World Cup.
The Netherlands started this match with five defenders for the first time since 26 March 2024 (lost 1-2 to Germany), and played their subsequent 31 matches with four defenders.
Since the defeat by Spain in the final of the 2010 edition, the Netherlands have not suffered any defeat in the World Cup, despite leaving the tournament 3 times, all on penalty shootouts, after drawing in regular and extra time with Argentina in 2014 and 2022 and Morocco in 2026.
