Morocco booked their place in the last 16 of the 2026 World Cup with Ismael Saibari converting the winning penalty to send the Netherlands packing.
The game had finished 1-1 after Issa Diop had cancelled out Cody Gakpo's effort.
For a second time at this World Cup, the game was decided on penalties. Neil El Aynaoui and Achraf Hakimi fluffed theirs for Morocco, but Yassine Bounou saved Crysencio Summerville's fourth Dutch kick, allowing Saibari to step up to slot home and send the Atlas Lions through.
It was no more than Morocco deserved, having dominated the Dutch. Saibari, who scored in all three group games, continued on his journey as the tournament's breakout star.
"A really tough game against a really tough opponent. One of the best opponents you can face in the world," said Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui, who played the full 120 minutes.
"It's a top 10 of the world, I think a contender to win eventually the World Cup. The way that we managed to win today is a huge acknowledgment for us as a national team, of course."
Heavyweights of European and African football, neither side pulled any punches in the opening stanza.
Saibari and Jan Paul van Hecke were involved in a shoving match after the Moroccan forward decided he had had enough of some rough treatment by the Dutch defence.
Azzedine Ounahi was left sporting a rip down the side of his shirt after tussling with Brian Brobbey that required a change of kit.
Chadi Riad escaped a yellow card after leaving an elbow out in an aerial duel that connected with Van Hecke’s face.
Bart Verbruggen was twice called into action before the first half hydration break. The Dutch goalkeeper pulled off an instinctive save to deny El Aynaoui after the Roma midfielder ghosted into the area to meet a Hakimi corner.
The Brighton goalkeeper then tipped a fizzing Hakimi drive from the edge of the box over for a corner.
Van Hecke’s distinctive blond mane was coated in claret after receiving an accidental knee to the head by Saibari following a Dutch corner.
Bounou hadn’t had a save to make but was alert enough to tip a thunderous Micky van de Ven shot over the bar before the break.
Ounahi blazed just over and Saibari somehow managed to miss connecting with an inviting free kick as a frantic first half drew to a close.
The game’s first yellow card came a minute into the second half. Issa Diop caught Brobbey with a nasty rake down the Dutch forward’s leg that left him writhing in agony.
Ronald Koeman stuck with a back five for the second half with Denzel Dumfries and Van de Ven asked to push higher up the pitch but they continued to look vulnerable as Morocco dominated.
Ounahi threaded the ball through to Hakimi and the Atlas Lions captain beat Verbruggen with a right-foot shot but saw his effort cannon off the crossbar.
Van de Ven then denied Hakimi before he could get his shot off with a last-ditch tackle that has become his trademark. Verbruggen then did well to keep hold of a deflected Bilal El Khannouss shot.
The Dutch were looking desperate by this point. A succession of Hakimi corners left the defence at sixes and sevens and one almost snuck in at Verbruggen’s near post.
At the 65-minute stage, Morocco had enjoyed 82 per cent of the possession. But try as they might, they couldn’t find a way through the wall of Oranje.
The Netherlands were grateful for the hydration break and it changed the direction of the game.
Koeman made a double change, with Wout Weghorst and Teun Koopmeiners introduced for Brobbey and Nathan Ake. The change of personnel immediately paid off with Weghorst providing the flick-on to release Summerville.
The West Ham winger lost his footing under a Moroccan challenge but still had the wherewithal to pass the ball to Gakpo to slam home under the body of Bounou.
It was an emotional moment for Gakpo, who revealed over the weekend that he and his partner Noa van der Bij had lost their unborn son.
The Liverpool forward fell to his knees before being embraced by the entire Dutch squad. He emerged to point to the heavens.
As the game entered added time, the Dutch looked like hanging on. That was until Chemsdine Talbi, introduced as a second-half substitute, floated in a cross that Diop rose to head past Verbruggen to send the game into extra time.
Al Ain forward Soufiane Rahimi had a golden chance to win the game for Morocco in extra time, but Bart Verbruggen pulled-off a world-class save to deny him.
Gakpo gave way to cramp and was replaced by Justin Kluivert as penalties beckoned. Saibari became the second player to spill blood and require a change of shirt.
The shoot-out was a mishmash of the good and the very bad. Koopmeiners drilled home to put the Dutch ahead as El Aynaoui struck his against the woodwork.
Kluivert followed suit, hitting the post, before Rahimi saw his penalty somehow squirm under Verbruggen, who guessed the right way.
Weghorst rammed his home; Talbi kept his cool. Quinten Timber dragged his shot well wide and Hakimi saw his effort bounce back off the post.
The score was 2-2 as the last set of penalty takers stepped up. Summerville was distraught as his shot was saved one-handed by Bounou.
It all fell to Saibari. The Moroccan plays his club football in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven, although a move to German champions Bayern Munich beckons.
With the final kick of the game, he sent the ball low into the corner and Morocco through to a second successive World Cup last-16 match, where they face Canada on Saturday.
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