Spain vs Morocco Match Review: Onwards to Moscow!
Credits: Evening Standard
One team had to stop the nightmare of Rio 2014 from repeating itself. The other, had virtually nothing to fight for. Put these teams together, you’ll get a match nobody expected.
Morocco came into this match already eliminated from this competition, and Spain needed to at least draw the match to make it into the next round, whilst awaiting the results of the Iran-Portugal match to know their final position in Group B. Morocco had the advantage here; at being the biggest monkey wrench in Spain’s World Cup campaign.
It’s a shame, however, that Morocco did not have enough time, or the luck, to showcase their talents in the World Cup. The Atlas Lions made their first appearance in the World Cup after 20 years of absence, and they did so by topping their group in the CAF qualifiers, just like how they did it in Mexico ‘86. Talents of Mehdi Benatia, Khalid Boutaib, Hakim Ziyech, Achraf Hakimi, just to name a few, would have deserved more time in this edition.
That, however, kicked in during this match-up, as they capitalized on lazy passing by Spain to draw first blood. Khalid Boutaib, Morocco’s main man in attack was the first to pounce on a loose pass to put it between De Gea’s legs. Spain responded quickly, however, with Isco putting Spain level courtesy of a brilliant Iniesta run. La Furia Roja finally wake up, realising that Morocco were no pushovers in this competition, and instantly went on the offensive.
The rest of the first and second halves saw De Gea making his very first save in this World Cup, and a lot of midfield battles. Key moments of the 2nd half saw a Nordin Amrabat screamer hit the crossbar, and at the other end, Isco saw his header goalbound, only to see it headed away, off the line, by Roman Saiss.
The turning point came when the substitutes came in. Youssef En-Nesyri came on for Morocco whilst Fernando Hierro opted to bring in Marco Asensio and Iago Aspas. The latter has a reputation in being a game-changer in his cameos, and that was what the Spanish technical director-cum-head coach wanted at the moment. That didn’t come, however. Not until En-Nesyri put a late corner kick into the top corner of the Spanish goal. Suddenly, Spain look set to take 2nd spot, where they would be in the tougher half of the knockout pool, potentially meeting the likes of Uruguay, Brazil, Germany, France and Argentina.
Cue cameo-man Iago Aspas, and the dreaded VAR.
Aspas latched on to a set-piece and flicked it into the goal to give Spain the equalizer in the 92nd minute, only to have his celebration cut short after the linesman flagged him for offside. Protests from the Spaniards poured in, to which the referee raised his hands, prompting for confirmation from the VAR officials. The goal was given, with Aspas onside by millimeters. It was a cruel way to deny Morocco one shot at their first 3 points in this World Cup, but the VAR officials got it absolutely spot on, despite Amrabat’s “VAR is bullshit”, statement at the end of the game.
Although Spain topped the group by “Fair Play”, and have a slightly easier half in the tournament, they can not be resting on their laurels, expecting the path to the finals to be smoother. Spain were undeniably shaken by the Atlas Lions, but their skin were thick enough to withstand the bite.
That, however, might not be the case when they face opponents in the do-or-die stages of the competition, and Spain will not be able to afford to do the same mistakes they have done in this group stages.
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