Scotland 0-1 Morocco: Early Saibari stunner settles Group C clash

Ismael Saibari's second-minute thunderbolt proved decisive as Morocco registered the first win of their World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Scotland. 

Scotland knew a victory would have been enough to reach the knockout stages of a major tournament for the very first time, but they were caught out early on in Boston. 

Steve Clarke's side fell behind after just 70 seconds when Brahim Diaz's ball down the right picked out Saibari, who, after beating the offside trap, thundered a fierce shot into the top-left corner to become the first Moroccan player to score in consecutive World Cup appearances. 

Morocco's early pressure continued as Azzedine Ounahi's teasing delivery narrowly evaded both Saibari and Neil El Aynaoui before Angus Gunn had to be quick off his line to thwart Achraf Hakimi's attempt at goal.   

Bilal El Khannouss then fired a glorious opportunity over the crossbar after Scott McTominay was dispossessed, but Scotland ended the first half in the ascendency, though John McGinn could only volley Andy Robertson's cross into the stands.  

However, Morocco came out of the blocks quickly after the break, with Saibari seeing his deflected effort clip the top of the woodwork before Gunn did brilliantly to keep El Khannouss' header out from a corner. 

Hakimi and Ryan Christie then failed to hit the target at either end, but Scotland felt they should have been awarded a penalty in the 82nd minute when McTominay was bundled over by El Aynaoui's challenge, but referee Ilgiz Tantashev waved away their protests. 

Scotland pushed for a late equaliser but failed to test Yassine Bounou as Lyndon Dykes headed a McGinn corner over and McTominay's deflected drive crashed against the side-netting, with Scotland failing to register a shot on target in a World Cup game for only the second time, after a 1-0 defeat to Denmark in 1986. 

Super Saibari makes Scotland pay for early lapse

After marking their return to the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Haiti, Clarke elected to make three changes at Boston Stadium, opting for a more experienced side. Scotland's starting line-up contained players with a combined 609 caps for their country, their most ever for a match in their history.

However, one of their more experienced players, in Grant Hanley, played a pivotal role in Saibari's opening goal in his attempt to play offside, with Scotland conceding their earliest goal at the World Cup, and they were unable to respond to that setback. 

Saibari, meanwhile, netted the fastest goal at this year's World Cup and the earliest overall since 2022, when Alphonso Davies netted for Canada against Croatia after 68 seconds. He is also only the second African player, after Mohamed Salah, to score in his first two outings at FIFA's flagship competition. 

But for all of Saibari's brilliance, which has seen him linked with a switch to Bayern Munich this summer, he had Brahim to thank for the assist. The pair have combined for both of Morocco's goals at the World Cup, which is only the second time on record that an African player has assisted a team-mate twice in the tournament's history. 

Brahim also finished with game-high totals for chances created (three) and successful dribbles (three), with Morocco coming out on top in the expected goals (xG) battle with a tally of 0.97 from their 12 attempts to Scotland's total of 0.54 from their six shots.