Arab Cup: Penalty Shootouts Settle Edgy Game Between Morocco and Algeria

Today’s game was a difficult mission for both Morocco and Algeria, with an eye on the 2021 FIFA Arab World Cup semi-final.

In a defining, water-tight quarter-finals match for both teams, the momentum went back and forth as both teams tried to dominate territory.

Morocco cruised through the group stage and most commentators would have them as favorites for tonight’s game.

But Algeria, rightly seen as one of the strongest and most technical teams of the 2021 Arab Cup, was not having any of it.

“If Morocco is our next opponent, so be it. We come to this kind of tournament ready to play against the best teams. You can’t be champions without beating the best. We are not afraid. We are ready,” the Algerian coach said before the game, when asked what he thought of a relatively stronger team in Morocco.

And so it proved. For both teams, today’s game was to some extent a night to forget, and to another extent a reference night. The tempo and momentum kept changing as the game wore on, making it hard to predict who would be the winner come the final whistle.

Algeria dominated the first quarter of the game, with Morocco’s Atlas Lions slightly overthinking and making life harder for themselves with nervous mistakes.

In Algeria, they had an equally compact and technically gifted opponent. But neither could Algeria make much of its domination in the early stages of the game.

And, as the Algerians lost their grip on the game, Morocco grew more into the game, pushing back and then eventually actually dominating possession and momentum.

Though the score was 0-0 at the end of the first half, both teams’ intensity and palpable determination suggested there was more to come. More edginess and suspense. But also more entertainment.

Things got more serious in the second half, and Algeria’s Yassine Brahimi took advantage of a somewhat indulgent Moroccan defense to win a penalty that he then converted seventeen minutes into the second half.

One goal down now, the Atlas Lions had no choice but to take the game to Algeria.

Five minutes after the Algeria goal and at the other end, Mohamed Nahiri scored a scintillating goal from a header, assisted by Abdelilah Hafidi with a cross following a set piece situation.

The overall technical and tactical mastery of both teams set the match on fire for the final minutes of the second half. But scoring situations remained water-tight, and so came extra time.

With a spectacular goal, Youcef Belaili scored the second goal for Alregians almost 10 minutes into the first half of extra time.

But Morocco was not about to give up just yet, with so much at stake.

Badr Benoun scored another header for Morocco in the 111th minute, almost 10 minutes before the end of the second half of extra time.

With a 2-2 scoreline reflecting what the game had been between these evidently over-motivated sides, things had to be settled in the penalty shootout.

Algeria converted all its penalties, sending Morocco out of the tournament and giving Moroccan goalkeeper Anas Zniti a night to forget.