Spain Out of World Cup 2022
This week, Spain lost to Morocco during a penalty shoot-out after their knock-out World Cup game went into overtime. It represented a major upset for Spain and this edition of the tournament. Previously, Spain had been high up on the list of favorites to win the competition, which is possibly the biggest sporting event in the world.
Spain’s national men’s team, a World Cup favorite, was eliminated by Morocco this week. Edoardo Busti/Unsplash
Play by play: Spain vs. Morocco
It was a tense game as fans filled the stadium in Qatar and many more tuned in from all over the world to see who would advance to the quarter-finals. Spain had been a contender to win the tournament, but Morocco had an underdog’s journey and ultimately gave Spain a run for their money, knocking them out of the cup altogether.
Neither team succeeded in landing a goal during the match, though Pablo Sarabia came close for Spain during extra time, grazing a goal post. In the penalty shoot-out, Sarabia took aim for Spain first but did not manage a goal. He was followed by Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets.
Keeping Morocco’s goal safe was Yassine Bounou, who has actually played in Spain for most of his soccer career. He is currently the goalie for La Liga club Sevilla, but did not face off with any of his usual teammates on the Spanish national team.
The game was ultimately won by Moroccan player Achraf Hakimi, who also spent his youth in Spain. Hakimi kicked fourth for his team, scoring the winning penalty shot after a simple down-the-middle shot that got past Spanish goalie Unai Simón.
The Spanish team’s penalty game has been criticized by sports journalists such as Nick Bromberg writing for Yahoo, who noted, “None of the three Spain players’ penalties appeared to have any sizzle. It was almost like they were simply trying to pass the ball into the net and Bounou clearly realized it.”
Morocco has advanced to the quarter-finals and will compete against Portugal, who beat Switzerland 6-1 in another stunning match Tuesday night. Previously, Spain had won the World Cup once. Morocco is the only non-European or South American team in the mix now. They were also the first African team to make the quarterfinals back in 2010, the year that Ghana won the tournament.
World Cup: A major draw for bettors
The world will have its eyes on the global soccer tournament, which continues on Dec. 9 and Dec. 10 for quarter-finals. Semi-finals will occur next Tuesday, Dec. 13. The winner of the whole shebang will be decided on Dec. 18.
FIFA’s famous tournament has already far surpassed betting records compared to its last iteration, which occurred in Russia in 2018. Out of all South American countries, Brazil has logged the most bets, with a great number happening online thanks in part to a proliferation of betting platforms since 2018.
However, the games have been a popular source of play for betting fans all over the world, and those lucky enough to choose the underdog Morocco cashed in this week. FoxSports reports that at BetMGM, Spain was the clear favorite to win (-165), and Morocco obviously not (+500).
Those paying close attention will already know that Morocco beat both former finalist Croatia and semi-finalist Belgium already this year. The team has also lost only a single goal. During this face-off, Spain controlled the ball for 75% of the game and tried to score 13 times. Morocco only tried twice, but showed a stronger defense.
