The 2026 World Cup bracket is officially updated following a dramatic Round of 32 clash that required extra time and a tense penalty shootout. After fighting to a 1-1 deadlock in regulation time, the match pushed past the 90-minute mark before being decided from the penalty spot, where Morocco ultimately secured a thrilling 3-2 victory to advance, and Netherlands were eliminated.
During the intense matchup, the breakthrough for the Dutch came from Cody Gakpo, who scored the opening goal for Netherlands and was visibly moved to tears during his emotional celebration. Despite the grueling physical toll of the extended match and the pressure of the shootout, Morocco found a way to survive the high-stakes encounter and punch their ticket to the next round.
With the Round of 32 in the rearview mirror, Morocco now shift their focus to a massive Round of 16 matchup against Canada, which defeated South Africa. This fixture is scheduled for July 4 at Houston Stadium in Houston, United States. Looking further down the line, the winner of the encounter between Canada and Morocco will advance to face the winner of Paraguay vs France/Sweden.
Morocco pull off epic result in regulation time
Over the 90 minutes of regulation, the matchup was highly contested, with the second half especially standing out. The first half was much more of a chess match, with both sides analyzing the opponent, feeling out the zone, and playing without risking much.
Ismael Saibari #11 of Morocco runs with the ball.
The second half broke wide open after Issa Diop received a yellow card just two minutes after the restart in the 47th minute. From there, both sides showed much more aggression on the pitch, leading up to Cody Gakpo’s emotional opening goal in the 72nd minute. Everything pointed to a victory for the Netherlands, but a 90+1-minute equalizer by Issa Diop, turning himself into the ultimate hero, locked the score and forced extra time.
Quiet extra time leads to shootout drama
Neither side could find a breakthrough during extra time, as the physical toll and heavy legs were evident on both sides. The only notable opportunity of the entire extra period was a historic, monumental hand save by Bart Verbruggen to deny Rahimi and keep the Dutch squad alive.
In the penalty shootout, the Netherlands started with the upper hand through Teun Koopmeiners. However, a shot off the post from Justin Kluivert and a miss by Timber left them finished in a definitive frame filled with inaccuracy from both sides. For the Netherlands, Wout Weghorst and Koopmeiners converted their attempts, while Bono acted as the executioner with that final save.
On Morocco‘s side, inaccuracy was also present after Neil El Aynaoui hit the post, and Achraf Hakimi also missed his shot, sending it off the post and out. Saibari ultimately scored the decisive penalty for the North African side, while Bono stepped up as the hero after saving the penalty attempt from Summerville.
