Early Morocco goal sinks Scotland in physical World Cup clash

FOXBORO, Mass. — Scotland put a scare into the sixth-ranked soccer team in the world Friday evening. But a competitive second half could not offset one costly early-game letdown.

A second-minute goal by Ismael Saibari proved to be the difference in Morocco’s 1-0 victory in a highly physical World Cup group-stage battle at Boston Stadium.

The narrow win pushed Morocco into first place in Group C, all but securing a spot in the knockout rounds for the 2022 World Cup semifinalists. Scotland, which defeated Haiti, 1-0, on the same field last Saturday, now faces a pivotal group-stage finale against similarly imposing Brazil on Wednesday in Miami.

“I really fancy this Morocco side to go deep in the tournament,” Scotland manager Steve Clarke said. “They reached the last four last time, and I think they’ve got the players and the ability to get to at least the last four again this time. I think they’re a terrific side. We matched them in the game, but they got the early goal, and we couldn’t change the game.”

Plenty of Morocco fans made the trip to Foxboro — their red shirts filled most of the seats in the south end zone — but they were far outnumbered by the boisterous Scots, whose chants of “No Scotland, No Party” and “Super John McGinn” echoed through the stadium and surrounding bars and restaurants hours before kickoff. The latter tune was a nod to the veteran midfielder who scored the lone goal in the Haiti match.

But Saibari — Morocco’s goal scorer in last Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Brazil — quickly silenced the Tartan Army contingent, if only momentarily.

Just over a minute into the match, the PSV Eindhoven midfielder raced through a seam in Scotland’s back line between Grant Hanley and Jack Hendry, received a well-placed pass from Brahim Diaz and blasted a rocket-propelled shot past the right ear of goalkeeper Angus Gunn.

Morocco had several chances to extend its lead as the first half progressed, including another by Sabiri minutes after his highlight-reel tally.

In the 10th minute, Neil El Aynaoui pilfered the ball from Ryan Christie, then nearly capitalized on the ensuing counterattack, finding free space in front of an open net but overrunning Azzedine Ounahi’s cross. El Aynaoui had another look later in the half but sailed a shot over the net. Bilal El Khannouss did the same after a falling El Aynaoui forced a Scott McTominay turnover (and left the Morocco midfielder bleeding from the mouth).

Achraf Hakimi, Morocco’s superstar captain, was denied by Gunn after receiving a similar entry pass from Diaz, then zipped a shot from outside the box straight at the Scotland keeper.

Morocco attempted five shots before Scotland managed its first, which did not come until the 44th minute. The Atlas Lions also frustrated their Scottish foes with their physicality, taking down Christie, McTominay and others with a series of hard challenges that did not draw whistles.

Scotland, meanwhile, couldn’t do much with its early chances, including fouls drawn by Che Adams and Kieran Tierney on the counterattack. The former resulted in a yellow card on Issa Diop, but the ensuing free kick was easily handled by Morocco’s defense.

It wasn’t until the final minutes before halftime that Scotland finally conjured a legitimate scoring opportunity.

After Diop broke up a pass into the box to Adams, McGinn got his foot on a cross to the right of Morocco’s net. The shot was errant, but it gave the Scots some much-needed momentum.

Tierney got another look shortly thereafter that was blocked by Ounahi. McGinn created two chances early in the second half, sparking one with a takeaway at midfield before being taken down by another controversial El Aynaoui challenge. In the 64th minute, Christie gained possession at the top of the box and got off a shot that missed high.

As its offense gained confidence, Scotland turned away two more Moroccan scoring bids, with Hendry sliding to deflect a Sabiri dangerous shot off the crossbar and Gunn rejecting an El Khannouss header off a corner kick.

But the underdogs could not muster an equalizer. McTominay, whose iconic bicycle kick against Denmark was the defining goal of Scotland’s World Cup qualifying campaign, threatened multiple times past the 80th minute but couldn’t convert.

On the first, the Napoli star was taken down by multiple defenders inside the box, leaving him again looking in exasperation at referee Ilgiz Tantashev. McTominay’s next bid was foiled when his shot deflected off a closing Chadi Riad and into the side netting.

Soufiane Rahimi turned aside one final Scotland corner in the closing seconds to secure the win for Morocco. Scotland finished with six shots, most of them in the second half, but did not register a shot on goal against keeper Yassine Bounou.

The stadium held a pregame moment of silence for Donny Strathie, a 76-year-old Scotland fan who died at his Boston hotel on Sunday. At the behest of Strathie’s family, fans also honored the longtime Tartan Army member with rousing applause in the 76th minute.