New York: A week has passed, the group stage of the World Cup has gathered. Mexico became the first team to reach the knockout stage of the World Cup by beating South Korea yesterday. This time, another host country, the United States, also qualified for the round of 32. They beat Australia 2-0. On the other hand, Ismael Saibari’s goal won Morocco in a tight match against Scotland.
In the first match, Paraguay was defeated by 4-1 goals. Despite the absence of star player Christian Pulisic for Mauricio Pochettino’s side on the day, it did not affect the team’s performance. Although Folarin Balgun, who scored twice in the last match, did not score today, he contributed to the first goal. Australia’s defender Cameron Burgess put the ball into his own net after 11 minutes from the USA forward’s cutback. This is the fifth time in the history of the World Cup that someone scored a suicide goal for the United States. Apart from France, no other team in the history of the World Cup has scored so many own goals.
The USA’s second goal of the match, however, was not self-inflicted, coming through Alex Freeman. The American fullback gave his team a two-goal lead by heading Sergiono Dest’s shot from a corner. Although the goal was initially ruled out for offside, the decision was overturned by VAR. Auji coach Tony Popovich expressed his anger against the referee after the match with this goal. Desperate to get back into the match, the Sakers made several changes in the second half. But they could not create any big chance. As a result, Australia had to lose this match 2-0.
Read more:- Zero goals in 62 attempts, Turkey is knocked out of the World Cup, Paraguay wins in a desperate battle of 10
On the other hand, Morocco took the lead against the Scots after 70 seconds at the very beginning of their match. Seabury beat Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn with a sharp shot from Brahim Diaz’s perfect pass. There were no big chances in the first half. However, in the second half of the match, Andy Robertson’s Scottish team fought in harmony. Both teams created multiple scoring chances. Saibari scored the second goal a little bit later. However, from a move made by El Khanous, Mara’s shot bounced back onto the bar. El Khanous himself missed a big goal chance from the corner.
Desperate to get back into the match, Scotland also ramped up the attack. Ben Doak, Scott McTomeny, John Maggin then built the attack. The Moroccan defense, however, was able to resist. In the match, Morocco made history by making the most 601 passes for an African country in the World Cup and in the end they were the ones who smiled at the victory with a 1-0 goal.
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