Morocco are through to the quarter-final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup after beating Spain 3-0 on penalties at the Education City Stadium on Tuesday.

Morocco shocked Belgium en route to winning Group F and, for the second time in tournament history, qualifying for the round of 16.

Walid Regragui’s team drew with Croatia in their initial match before defeating Belgium and Canada to earn seven out of a possible nine points.

Spain, on the other hand, lost to Japan in their last group stage match and came in second place in Group E.

After smashing 7 goals past Costa Rica in their opening game, they quickly fell behind Hajime Moriyasu’s team with a tie against Germany and a defeat against Japan.

The first 45 minutes of this game were controlled by Spain in terms of possession, but Morocco appeared to be the more deadly attacking team.

MOROCCO DEFEATS SPAIN ON PENALTIES TO ADVANCE TO THE QUARTERFINALS 🇲🇦😱 pic.twitter.com/V2G0Zxw54V

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 6, 2022

Hakimi’s free-kick for Morocco was the first shot of the game. Later, Mazraoui pushed Simon into a save before Aguerd had an opportunity to score from short range.

Asensio created Spain’s best scoring chance in the opening period after eluding the Moroccan defense and smashing the side of the goal from a small angle.

Morocco stood firm, pressing hard to push Spain back and denying them space outside of the box.

They seemed dangerous on the break as well, getting their wingers involved and advancing quickly, with Boufal bothering the right side of the defense with his deft footwork and creative dribbling.

The match went straight to extra-time as the game ended goalless after 90 minutes.

The 104th minute presented Morocco with its greatest opportunity to win, however both teams had chances to do so.

Cheddira faced Simon one-on-one and fired a close-range shot directly at the goalkeeper.

Spain came close to scoring during the game’s final attack. Sarabia entered the game with only a few minutes left, and his shot from a tight angle struck the post.

After extra time, there was no goal, and the game went directly to penalties and Spain lost out 3-0 to Morocco.

Luis Enrique told his players to practice 1,000 penalties before getting on the plane to Qatar. They failed to score one… pic.twitter.com/SRuY1hZ8FF

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) December 6, 2022

Spain struggled from the penalty spot and failed to convert any of their three opportunities. Sarabia struck the post, and Soler and Busquets’ penalty shots were saved by Bounou.

Morocco was calm from a distance of 12 yards. Although Simon blocked Benoun’s shot, Regragui’s team won because to well-placed goals from Sabiri and Ziyech, as well as a chip from Hakimi.

Morocco has won all five of its World Cup games, and they will now face either Switzerland or Portugal in the quarterfinals.

With three clean sheets in four games, their defense has been vital in their success.

After being eliminated at this level in 1986 after losing to Germany, Morocco has now qualified for the quarterfinals for the first time thanks to today’s victory.