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The Group F fixture between Belgium and Morocco was nearing another 0-0 draw until Abdelhamid Sabiri scored a stunning free-kick to give the Atlas Lions an important 1-0 lead. At the 73rd-minute mark, the Sampdoria midfielder was enlisted to take a free kick from near the corner flag at the Belgian goalpost.
The 25-year-old stepped up to his mark and delivered a stunning freekick which curled into the goal through the Red Devils' defence. This goal was also the first Moroccan goal of the FIFA World 2022 as a similar attempt by winger Hakim Ziyech was ruled out at the end of the first half of the fixture.
Check the video here:
After scoring the Atlas Lions suddenly found a second wind and dominated on the offensive front. This attacking intent once again pushed Belgium on the back foot. This allowed Morocco to double their lead in extra time thanks to a scintilating finish by Zakaria Aboukhlal.
The Toulouse forward received a beautiful pass from Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech from the right flank. Aboukhlal didn't make any mistakes and slotted the ball over the Belgian keeper Thibaut Courtois.
"It's a difficult result because obviously, the first goal effected the outcome. It was a dead ball situation and at that point we couldn't get our game going. We need to be together going into the next game. The situation in the free-kick is the way we have been defending set plays for six years. I haven't seen it back but it is nothing to do with the set up.