Morocco boss Regragui thrown in the air and dropped in celebration
World Cup 2022 briefing: Day 17
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Morocco were jubilant after they defeated Spain in the last 16 of the World Cup on penalties, but dropped their head coach Walid Regragui after lifting him up in the air in celebration as he masterminded a victory over the Spaniards to reach the quarter-finals. The game ended goalless after 90 minutes and extra time, then Spain missed all of their spot kicks as Morocco claimed the win.
The Moroccan side could not hide their joy after Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi did a Panenka penalty to seal the win, and they soon rushed to Regragui to celebrate with their coach before unfortunately dropping him.
Morocco had a strong defensive performance as they kept Spain goalless for 120 minutes despite their opponents enjoying a large majority of possession, then held their nerve to advance to the final eight following the shoot-out.
Spain missed all three of their penalties as Yassine Bounou made two saves, then Hakimi stepped up to dink the final spot kick past Unai Simon to prompt wild scenes inside the stadium as the Madrid-born star sealed their place in the quarter-finals where Morocco will face either Portugal or Switzerland.
The ITV pundits noticed Regragui had been dropped in the celebrations, before praising the entire team. Former Chelsea and England winger Joe Cole claimed it was these moments that fans love football.
“It’s a real honour and a privilege to be here right now,” Cole told ITV. “We’re right by the Morocco fans and the emotion, it’s amazing, it’s why we love football. I said before the shoot-out they were heroes whatever happened, but listen, football is about moments, and Hakimi, to do that, the minerals that he’s shown there is unbelievable. He’s just sat Simon down and gone there you go, we’re going to the quarter-finals.”
“Look at these scenes, it never gets old. The first shock we’ve had in the knockout stages, and the coach as well – it’s his sixth game in charge, they were a mess.
“Ziyech didn’t want to turn up and play under the last coach, they couldn’t get anything goal, and from the first game where they defended against Croatia and just kept that going, this is the romance, the love story of the World Cup, and look at the coach, incredible, absolutely loving this.”
Spain and Barcelona legend Sergio Busquets, who missed a penalty in the shoot-out, claimed his side lost in cruel circumstances. “We did things to deserve to stay in the World Cup,” he claimed. “At the end of the game we had a chance. We’re leaving in the cruelest way.”
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