Morocco beat Netherlands on penalties to reach FIFA World Cup last 16

Morocco beat the Netherlands 3-2 on penalties on Monday to reach the World Cup last 16 after their Round of 32 tie ended 1-1 following extra time, setting up a meeting with co-hosts Canada. Ismael Saibari converted the winning spot kick after Yassine Bounou saved Crysencio Summerville’s penalty, sending Morocco through after a dramatic contest in which they had forced extra time with a stoppage-time equaliser. Morocco’s Neil El Aynaoui and Dutch substitute Justin Kluivert missed their attempts before Bart Verbruggen appeared to save Soufiane Rahimi’s effort, only for the ball to squirm underneath him and trickle over the line. Quinten Timber then put the ball wide with the Dutch side’s fourth kick, Achraf Hakimi struck the post with the chance to seal victory before Saibari kept his nerve to send Morocco through. The shootout capped a gripping encounter in Monterrey that swung repeatedly in both teams’ favour, with Cody Gakpo’s emotional second-half opener cancelled out by Issa Diop’s stoppage-time header before neither team could find a winner in extra time. Morocco fashioned the better chances before the break, with goalkeeper Verbruggen producing a series of outstanding saves to deny Ayoub Bouaddi’s close-range header and Neil El Aynaoui’s powerful effort. At the other end, Bounou was finally called into action to parry Micky van de Ven’s long-range strike. Hakimi rattled the crossbar and forced another save from Verbruggen as the Dutch struggled to contain the full back’s runs from deep before Ronald Koeman’s introduction of Wout Weghorst gave his side a much-needed focal point in attack. Emotional opener The substitute’s impact was immediate as he won a flick-on that released Summerville, whose persistence created the opening for Gakpo to sweep a first-time finish beyond Bounou in the 72nd minute. Playing days after he and his partner lost their unborn son during pregnancy, Gakpo broke down in tears as teammates rushed to embrace him. The Netherlands looked inc