Oranje crash out of World Cup after another penalty shootout heartbreak against Morocco

Oranje were knocked out of the FIFA World Cup on Tuesday morning against Morocco. It was a familiar story for the Dutch national side as they lost on penalties once again. Justin Kluivert, Quinten Timber, and Crysencio Summerville missed their penalties, leaving PSV player Ismael Saibari to score the winning penalty after the game had finished 1-1 thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo and Issa Diop.

It is yet another defeat from the spot for Oranje. It was the 10th penalty shootout for the Dutch national side in its history and the eighth loss. It is the third exit from a World Cup in a row from penalties for the national side.

Koeman went with a more defensive approach for the game. Midfielder Tijjani Reijnders was replaced by Nathan Ake, resulting in a five-man defence. Crysencio Summerville played up front with Brian Brobbey, with Donyell Malen dropping to the bench.

Morocco came close to breaking the deadlock first after a tense and physical start to the game. A corner was swung into the near post and met by Neil El Aynaoui, whose hard header towards goal was stomped away by Bart Verbruggen.

The Dutch keeper was forced into a more difficult save a minute later. Moroccan captain Achraf Hakimi drilled a shot towards goal, but once again it was just too close to Verbruggen to cause the Brighton keeper real issues.

Oranje came close to scoring on one occasion in the first half. Left wingback Micky van de Ven hit a similar shot to Hakimi, rising towards the goal, but Bono stomped it over for a corner.

The biggest chance of the half came in the final seconds. A free kick was swung in dangerously by Hakimi towards Ismael Saibari; all the PSV forward had to do was make contact for a certain goal, but he failed to do so, resulting in a goal kick and a 0-0 score going into halftime.

Morocco made a very strong start to the second half, and it resulted in the closest any team had come to breaking the deadlock in the 52nd minute. Hakimi came forward and opted to shoot rather than play the ball across to Saibari, with his shot hitting the crossbar.

Oranje took the lead in the 72nd minute, and it was Cody Gakpo of all people. The winger had opted to stay with the team and player after the loss of his son during pregnancy a few days ago. The emotion was clear with the Liverpool winger falling to his knees with tears in his eyes after seeing the ball hit the net. His parents, who were in the crowd at the game, were also visibly emotional.

The goal had come as a result of Koeman’s substitutions. A long ball was headed on by Wout Weghorst, who had come on just minutes prior, to Summerville. He carried the ball as long as he could before placing the pass across while falling to Gakpo, who drilled it into the net.

After this, it seemed all over for Morocco. The African’s failed to create anything of note, and it was looking like a match against Canada next for the Dutch. That was until the second minute of injury time when Chemsdine Talbi produced a magnificent cross out of the blue right onto the head of center back Issa Diop, who had come forward in a last-ditch attempt to force something. The center back headed the ball home, sending the Moroccan fans behind the goal into a frenzy and leading to 30 minutes of extra time.

Extra time was a low-key affair, although Morocco missed the biggest chance of the game during it. Soufiane Rahimi stayed calm in the box, dribbling past Teun Koopmeiners and setting himself up for an easy finish, but his effort was much too close to Verbruggen, resulting in a corner.

This then led to the what has historically been the worst possible scenario for Oranje: penalties. Teun Koopmeiners went first and converted before El Aynaoui hit the crossbar with his effort, giving Oranje the advantage. Substitute Justin Kluivert was up next, but he failed with his effort, hitting the post.

This was followed by Wout Weghorst converting his penalty before Quinten Timber hit his effort far wide of the goal, but Hakimi then also hit the post, keeping it level. However, Crysencio Summerville saw his effort saved by Bono before Saibari was on hand to convert the penalty.

It was a deserved loss for Oranje, with Morocco dominating most of the game. Attention will now go to the managerial situation. Koeman has qualified for each tournament he has been manager of thus far, but his time will likely come to an end with this defeat.