Morocco vs Spain

Last 16 clash as Morocco and Spain look to set up a quarter-final with Portugal or Switzerland in Qatar.

Morocco are right in this game. Youssef En-Nesyri is hovering but Unai Simon plucks the ball off his nose to cut out the attack. They’ve started this match brilliantly. 22 mins: Lovely dummy from Boufal to confuse Marcos Llorente and storm down the left wing. The offside flag then goes up ang Gavi breathes a sigh of relief for missing the chance. He unleashes a decent left-footed shot and forces a diving save out of Unai Simon. Noussair Mazraoui tackles Ferran Torres in midfield and storms up the pitch with the ball. 36 mins: A decent cross comes over to Ferran Torres who does brilliantly to hold onto the ball under pressure from three defenders. Morocco swing the ball into the box from the right and it bounces through to Boufal on the opposite wing. He sits down one defender then flicks the ball into the six-yard box where Nayef Aguerd is wide open. That’s the best chance of the game! Morocco 0-0 Spain

Luis Enrique has recalled several of his key players to Spain's starting line-up for today's last-16 clash with Morocco at the World Cup, but Alvaro Morata ...

27min: Asensio finally breaches Morocco’s defence to hit the side netting for Spain’s first shot. 41min: Over the bar! 35min: Morocco getting deeper and deeper. [World Cup](/topic/world-cup) will be decided today with fewer matches at the whole tournament holding more intrigue than Morocco’s clash with Spain. Of course, that is no easy task in itself. Topping a group featuring Belgium, Croatia and Canada was no mean feat for Morocco but they can go one better this afternoon by downing Spain to reach the last eight of a World Cup for the first time in their history.

The Moroccan national anthem is both played lustily by the band playing it (presumably on record) and the fans and players in the stadium.

It’s a moment of maximum tension, a time to show your nerve and that you can shoot the penalty in the way you have decided, if you have trained it a thousand times. It falls to Morocco, one of the best supported teams in Qatar, to add an element of the unfamiliar to the quarter-finals. It’s going to be a very difficult game against one of the best teams in the world, they’re among the top favourites. Azpilicueta has not recovered from a thigh injury suffered in Spain’s last game against Japan, and Luis Enrique opted for Llorente ahead of Dani Carvajal, who struggled a bit with the Japanese. Real Madrid and his family gave all the papers required showing he was born in a hospital in Madrid, that he studied here, that he spent all his life growing up here. The Moroccan national anthem is both played lustily by the band playing it (presumably on record) and the fans and players in the stadium. Torres gets the ball out wide, makes a dart into the box and then runs into traffic. In the good old days, of course, there would be the Band of the Coldstream Guards (or local equivalent) churning out a nearly unrecognisable version of some unfortunate visiting team’s anthem, to the amusement of the away fans. Rodri has to head the ball back out and it comes to Boufal, and that’s a free header…missed. Boufal speeds on and a cross from Mazraoui tests Simon in the air. To the consternation of the hosts, the team marched off when the Yugoslav national anthem was played. His reaction was great - stayed cool (if annoyed) and turned to the crowd and asked them reasonably to show a little respect.

Spain take on Morocco for a place in the quarter-finals.

[Stamford Bridge](https://www.vavel.com/en/football/2022/11/06/premier-league/1128722-chelsea-vs-arsenal-post-match-player-ratings.html) and headed back to his native Madrid to play for Atletico. [Spain](https://www.vavel.com/en/international-football/2022/12/02/1131139-costa-rica-2-4-germany-post-match-player-ratings.html) and [Morocco](https://www.vavel.com/en/international-football/2022/12/02/1131154-four-things-we-learnt-from-moroccos-victory-against-canada.html) is the Mediterranean Sea. [Real Madrid](https://www.vavel.com/en/data/real-madrid) academy, has more links to Tuesday's opposition than most. However so far at this [World Cup,](https://www.vavel.com/en/international-football/2022/12/05/1131438-world-cup-2022-day-16-preview-neymar-set-to-return-as-brazil-v-south-korea-and-japan-v-croatia-continue-last-16-action.html) he has scored in every game, 3 in 3 and is likely to be Spain's biggest goal scoring threat on Tuesday. [World Cup.](https://www.vavel.com/en/international-football/2022/12/05/1131429-world-cup-master-and-apprentice-offer-england-their-own-beat.html) None more so than Roberto Martinez's Belgium side, defeating them 2-0 in their second group stage. His CV looks extremely impressive, but his goal scoring record doesn't seem to match. Throughout his career, Morata has divided opinion. Tuesday's matchup though will lead to a clash of styles, that could be extremely intriguing. But the decision to replace the experienced Vahid Halilhodzic with Expect Spain to have 70-75% of the ball. Morocco's attempt to join the Conceding one goal in three group games (Unfortunately for Aguerd it was his own goal against Canada).

Luis Enrique's Spain will fancy their chances of reaching the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup when they take on Walid Regragui's Morocco in the last 16 ...

[Betfred ](https://promotions.betfred.com/#/affiliates/sports/football/world-cup-2022/bet-10-get-60?&siteid=104967&referrer=&click=414889388)is offering new customers an incredible £60 worth of bonuses when you sign up and bet just £10 on the World Cup! Amazon's 20 live Premier League games will return in the 2022/23 season. That should see Aymeric Laporte, Jordi Alba and Ferran Torres return to the side, although Alvaro Morata is likely to keep his place in attack ahead of Marco Asensio after scoring in all three group stage games for La Roja. They also have exclusivity of all UEFA competitions including the Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League. Sky Sports retain the rights to the bulk of those fixtures with 128 live matches. They also own rights to the Carabao Cup and several international matches. BT Sport hold the rights to 52 live Premier League games. Morocco twice took the lead through Khalid Boutaiband Youssef En Nesyri, only for Spain to reply in each half through Isco and Iago Aspas. That will see As a result, nothing less than a win will be expected. [BBC](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/bbc) One, which is also available to stream via BBC [iPlayer](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/iplayer) and the BBC iPlayer app. [Spain](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/spain-football-team) and [Morocco](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/morocco-football-team) go head-to-head on Tuesday as the last 16 of the [2022 World Cup](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/world-cup-2022) nears its conclusion.

African teams have done better than ever at this World Cup. It is also the first time every African team has had an African coach.