One goal enough to decide Morocco vs. Scotland and change Group C
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FOXBORO - Ismael Saibari sent shockwaves through Boston Stadium when he scored a second-minute goal for Morocco.
The perfectly executed strike to the far top corner decided a 1-0 victory against Haiti on Friday, altering both the remaining 88 minutes of that match, the balance of power in Group C and how three teams need to play to reach the knockout stages.
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"I wish we could start again," Scotland manager Steve Clarke said.
Scotland, which won 1-0 against Haiti in its opening match in Foxborough, didn't overreact to the deficit. Clarke didn't want his team to open itself too much chasing an equalizer early against the No. 6 team in the world and the reigning African champions.
"If you chase a goal against a team like Morocco that is so fast, so quick, the game becomes stretched," Clarke said. "After we conceded the first one after 70-odd seconds, it was very important not to concede the second."
A one-goal lead also forced Morocco to defend with more intensity and value possession since the only thing more valuable than goals at a World Cup are points in the standings.
"When you’re in the World Cup, every match is complicated. It’s difficult," Morocco manager Mohamed Ouahbi said as translated by FIFA's interpreting app. "That’s the charm of it all. You’re going to go against competitors that have different styles."
Made more complicated and difficult by Brazil's 3-0 thrashing of Haiti in Philadelphia. After the second round of matches, both Brazil and Morocco have four points. The Brazilians lead Group C with a +3 goal differential.
In order to win the group and face the runner-up from Group F (currently Japan) rather than the Group F winner (Sweden currently leads), Morocco needs to beat Haiti by at least three more goals than the differential between Brazil and Scotland. Sweden is currently 34th in the world, while Japan ranks 17th.
"I think we can go pretty far. We take it game by game," Saibari said. "We have our objectives and our goals. We walk towards it."
After the loss, Scotland still has three points after a win against Haiti. The Scots can climb into the automatic qualification discussion by taking down Brazil in Miami on Thursday - a monster task. The nation can also reach the knockout rounds for the first time ever as one of the top eight third-place teams.
Having three points puts Scotland atop the third place teams rankings for now. Goal differential could dictate whether or not the team goes through.
"They want to win the game," Clarke said. "If they can't win the game, they don't want to lose it."
Contact Kyle Grabowski at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kylegrbwsk.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: What Ismael Saibari goal changed about Scotland Haiti and Group C