{"id":250711,"date":"2026-06-30T05:37:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T05:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/30\/world-cups-ultimate-heartbreak-as-beautiful-moment-for-shattered-star-followed-by-shootout-pain\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T05:37:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T05:37:00","slug":"world-cups-ultimate-heartbreak-as-beautiful-moment-for-shattered-star-followed-by-shootout-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/30\/world-cups-ultimate-heartbreak-as-beautiful-moment-for-shattered-star-followed-by-shootout-pain\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup\u2019s ultimate heartbreak as beautiful moment for shattered star followed by shootout pain"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Morocco defeated the Netherlands in a penalty shoot-out to advance to the last 16 of the World Cup after a thrilling battle in Monterrey finished 1-1 after extra-time. <\/p>\n

Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made the crucial save to block the Netherlands\u2019 fifth penalty from Crysencio Summerville before striker Ismael Saibari stepped up to blast home the winning spot-kick that sealed a 3-2 shootout win.<\/p>\n

UFC 329: McGregor v Holloway 2 | SUN 18 JULY 11AM AEST | Conor McGregor is back. The Irish superstar takes on the always dangerous Max Holloway in a rematch 13 years in the making | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports<\/a>.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

The victory sends Morocco into a last 16 clash with Canada in Houston on Saturday.<\/p>\n

An enthralling match had gone to extra time after Issa Diop had glanced in a dramatic equaliser for Morocco in the first minute of stoppage time as the Netherlands closed in on victory. <\/p>\n

The Dutch had taken the lead midway through the second half with a goal from Cody Gakpo, playing just days after his partner had confirmed the death of the couple\u2019s unborn son. <\/p>\n

Liverpool forward Gakpo sank to the turf and appeared overcome with emotion as he was surrounded by team-mates in a prolonged group embrace.<\/p>\n

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Cody Gakpo appeared to have written a World Cup fairytale before it all went sour.<\/span>Source: FOX SPORTS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But Morocco forced extra time when an unmarked Diop headed home from substitute Chemsdine Talbi\u2019s cross in injury time.<\/p>\n

Morocco had created the better chances of a fractious encounter, which saw players from both sides flying into tackles to test the patience of Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio. <\/p>\n

The Atlas Lions almost took the lead on 20 minutes when Neil al-Aynaoui glanced an Achraf Hakimi corner goalwards only to be denied by a superb reflex save from Netherlands goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. <\/p>\n

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Netherlands choke in penalty shoot AGAIN | 00:28<\/p>\n

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Verbruggen was pressed into action moments later, this time doing well to tip a vicious strike from Hakimi over the bar.<\/p>\n

The fierce nature of the contest was on full display midway through the half when Saibari was lucky to escape sanction after elbowing Jan Paul van Hecke in the face. <\/p>\n

The Dutch continued to enjoy plenty of possession but were unable to convert it into goalscoring chances.<\/p>\n

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Volpato on Roos: “I felt it was right!” | 03:21<\/p>\n

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Their best effort came on 44 minutes when Tottenham\u2019s Micky van de Ven uncorked a ferocious shot from the edge of the area that was tipped over by Bounou. <\/p>\n

Van Hecke continued to find himself in the thick of the action, and after bloodying his head in a collision in the penalty area, made his presence felt with a crunching tackle that upended el-Aynaoui just before half-time. <\/p>\n

As the half ended Saibari just failed to connect with a cross that flashed across the Dutch goal before going behind.<\/p>\n

The drama continued into an end-to-end second half, but appeared to have tilted in the Netherlands\u2019 favour when coach Ronald Koeman brought on forward Wout Weghorst in a flurry of substitutions after the hydration break. <\/p>\n

Weghorst made an immediate impact flicking on a long ball to send Summerville bearing in on goal. Summerville crossed to Gakpo, who hurled himself at the ball to score. <\/p>\n

The Netherlands, superbly marshalled by Gakpo\u2019s Liverpool team-mate Virgil van Dijk, appeared to be heading for victory but Diop\u2019s late header sent it to extra-time. <\/p>\n

Morocco looked to have made the breakthrough when Soufiane Rahimi went through on goal in the 96th minute, only to be denied by a jaw-dropping save from Verbruggen. <\/p>\n

The Netherlands held on for penalties but despite Morocco missing their first when El-Aynaoui hit the bar, the north Africans recovered to win.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Morocco defeated the Netherlands in a penalty shoot-out to advance to the last 16 of the World Cup after a thrilling battle in Monterrey finished 1-1 after extra-time. Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made the crucial save to block the Netherlands\u2019 fifth penalty from Crysencio Summerville before striker Ismael Saibari stepped up to blast home the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":250712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[156],"class_list":{"0":"post-250711","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}