Ice-cool Hakimi seals victory as Morocco's heroes dump Spain out of World Cup

Madrid-born forward sends North African nation through to quarter-finals for first time in 3-0 penalty shoot-out win

Morocco's players celebrate after their 3-0 penalty shoot-out victory in the World Cup Round of 16 match against Spain at Education City Stadium on December 6, 2022, in Al Rayyan, Qatar. Getty

Morocco's Achraf Hakimi celebrates with teammates after scoring the winning penalty. AFP

Morocco goalkeeper Bono saves from Sergio Busquets of Spain during the penalty shoot-out. EPA

Dejected Spain players after the match. AFP

Morocco players celebrate the win. AFP

Achraf Hakimi of Morocco celebrates after the team's victory in the penalty shoot-out against Spain. Getty

Hakim Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi of Morocco celebrate after the team's victory. Getty

Achraf Hakimi of Morocco scores the team's fourth and winning penalty in the shoot-out against Spain. Getty

Morocco's Achraf Hakimi scores the winning penalty. Reuters

Spain's goalkeeper Unai Simon watches Morocco's Achraf Hakimi's winning penalty hits the back of the net. AP

Goalkeeper Bono of Morocco saves the third penalty by Sergio Busquets of Spain. Getty

Morocco players react after goalkeeper Yassine Bounou saves a penalty from Spain's Carlos Soler. PA

Morocco's Hakim Ziyech scores a penalty shoot-out. AP

Bono of Morocco makes a save against a penalty by Carlos Soler of Spain in the penalty shoot-out. Getty

Unai Simon of Spain makes a save against Walid Cheddira of Morocco. Getty

Spain's Marco Asensio hits the side netting with a shot. AP

Spain's Marco Asensio after hitting the side netting with an attempt on goal. AFP

Morocco keeper Bono punches the ball clear. Getty

Morocco goalkeeper Bono is put under pressure by Marco Asensio of Spain. Getty

Morocco's Nayef Aguerd heads a good chance over the bar. AP

Morocco's Nayef Aguerd heads the ball over the bar. AFP

Noussair Mazraoui of Morocco battles for possession with Ferran Torres of Spain. Getty

Youssef En-Nesyri, Sergio Busquets and Nayef Aguerd challenge for the ball. EPA

Morocco's Noussair Mazraoui and Spain's Ferran Torres battle. AP

Spain's forward Marco Asensio fights for the ball with Morocco's Romain Ghanem Saiss. AFP

Morocco keeper Bono saves a shot by Spain's Gavi. AP

Spain manager Luis Enrique talks to Gavi. EPA

Morocco keeper Bono tips a shot from Spain's Gavi on to the bar. Getty

Spain's Gavi talks to Argentinian referee Fernando Rapallini after fouling Morocco's Sofiane Boufal. AFP

Spain's Dani Olmo grimaces in pain. AP

Spain's Aymeric Laporte challenges for the ball against Morocco's Walid Cheddira. AP

Morocco's Nayef Aguerd walks off the pitch after picking up an injury. AP

Morocco midfielder Hakim Ziyech talks with coach Walid Regragui. AFP

Morocco's goalkeeper Bono punches clear. AFP

Aymeric Laporte of Spain is booked. EPA

As all around him lost their cool, Achraf Hakimi kept his.

He even did a Panenka. A Panenka, with all that history in his hands, with all those thousands holding their breath in the stands on top of him and the many millions no doubt doing the same back home.

But he simply chipped home his penalty, the winning penalty, to knock out Spain and send Morocco through to the World Cup quarter-finals. A first World Cup quarter-final, 36 years after their only other attempt to make it that far.

Hakimi, the Madrid-born full-back, had vanquished Spain, those 2010 champions, settling a tense but thrilling goalless encounter at Education City Stadium on Tuesday with one swish of his ice-cold boot. Pablo Sarabia, Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets all missed from the spot for Spain, or rather goalkeeper Bono repelled them, the last line in that wall of resolute red.

Just like the 2018 global finals and last year’s rescheduled Euro 2020, Spain would suffer another shoot-out heartache – their fourth in five at the World Cup – but this should be all about Morocco.

Not given much chance of escaping a group containing Belgium and Croatia, they reside now as the fourth African side to make the World Cup last eight, the first from the north of the continent to do so. They are the first Arab representative to have survived this far at a global finals.

In Qatar, they haven’t been beaten; they haven’t even been breached by an opposition player. The solitary goal conceded in four matches came from their own defender, Nayef Aguerd.

Walid Regragui, the recently appointed manager with the instant Midas touch, labelled it pre-match as “the biggest game in our history”, and his mighty men grabbed it with both hands. Morocco were, as they have been for much of the tournament, monumental; Spain sent packing.

Unpacking that previous 120 minutes was no envious task. Spain dominated possession, with 77 per cent of the ball, but Morocco probably carved the clearest chances. Moments before half-time, Sofiane Boufal tricked enough room to cross, and Aguerd headed off target. Unmarked, and yards from the Spain goal, it seemed easier to score.

Morocco 0-0 Spain (Morocco win 3-0 on penalties) - player ratings

But Spain pressed forward. For much of the second-half, Morocco couldn’t get a hold of the ball. Pushed ever deeper, they were in danger of being picked apart. But they preferred instead to puff out their chests.

Sofyan Amrabat, a one-man barricade in central midfield, blocked brilliantly from Nico Williams. In injury-time, Bono pushed away Dani Olmo’s in-swinging free-kick. In between, substitute Alvaro Morata headed woefully off target having snuck around the back of the Morocco defence at a free-kick.

In the first half of extra-time, Morocco thought they had snatched it. Azzedine Ounahi rolled in Walid Cheddira but, faced with only Simon to beat, the substitute could not place his effort beyond the Athletic Bilbao stopper’s legs.

With the last kick before spot-kicks, Sarabia struck the outside of the Morocco post with a volley. He then did the same with his penalty, Spain’s first that set the tone.

Then Abdelhamid Sabiri scored for Morocco, Hakim Ziyech, too. Soler saw his spot-kick saved, Badr Benoun suffered the same fate. But Busquets could not get past Bono, the Morocco goalkeeper leaping to his right to set the stage for Hakimi. In truth, Spain were tame from 12 yards.

Hakimi, the star player in a team crammed with soon-to-be-similar, placed down the ball, inhaled deep, blocked out the thousands waiting with bated breath and dinked home a Panenka. He was soon swallowed up by teammates; not long after, Regragui got the bumps.

Morocco had bumped out Spain, and chiselled their place in the record books.

Morocco fans celebrate their victory - in pictures