The ball sat on the spot in Monterrey. Ismael Saibari placed it, stepped back, and waited. Then he sent it low into the left corner while goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen dived the other way. The winner went into the low left corner as goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen went the other direction. The midfielder tore off his shirt and screamed with joy as he was mobbed by teammates.
The shootout had turned on a single hand. With the shootout tied at 2-all after four rounds, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made a strong save of Crysencio Summerville's attempt, batting it away with his left hand. The nerve had been shared around before that. Morocco's Neil El Aynaoui and Dutch substitute Justin Kluivert missed their attempts before Bart Verbruggen appeared to save Soufiane Rahimi's effort, only for the ball to squirm underneath him; Quinten Timber then put the ball wide, and Achraf Hakimi struck the post with the chance to seal victory before Saibari kept his nerve to send Morocco through.
How it turned
The ninety minutes had offered no such calm. The Dutch took the lead midway through the second half with a goal from Cody Gakpo. Morocco chased, and were denied late. The Netherlands looked increasingly comfortable, with captain Virgil van Dijk producing a crucial intervention to deny Saibari as Morocco threw numbers forward for an equaliser. Then the game broke open. Substitute Chemsdine Talbi delivered a pinpoint cross from the left and Diop rose above Van Dijk to power a stoppage-time header beyond Verbruggen, sending the match into extra time. Extra time settled nothing.
The Dutch left with little comfort. "The game plan was working," Van Dijk said. "In the end, in stoppage time, you get pushed back. Then it goes to penalties and then unfortunately, we're eliminated." For Morocco, it was a step through. With the final kick of the game, Saibari sent Morocco through to a second successive World Cup last-16 match, where they face Canada.
The trajectory
Saibari has grown into this tournament rather than arrived at it. He has been Morocco's star player of the competition, and once again proved instrumental in the team's victory. His club life reads as an ascent. The Moroccan plays his club football in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven, although a move to German champions Bayern Munich beckons. On Monday he ended Dutch hopes on Dutch terms. Morocco sent the Netherlands to its earliest World Cup exit.
One kick, taken by a man who learned the game in their league. That is how Ismael Saibari will remember Monterrey.
