The most dangerous-looking pairing on paper lived up to the billing for every minute it lasted. A cagey, goalless first half saw both goalkeepers earn their keep — Bart Verbruggen denied Bilal El Khannouss and Achraf Hakimi, while Yassine Bounou got across to push away a long-range Micky van de Ven strike. Hakimi nearly set up Ismael Saibari right on the stroke of half-time, but the chance went agonizingly astray. 0-0 at the break, between two teams that had combined to lose just once in their last 64 matches.
The second half opened with Morocco the brighter side — Hakimi denied by a heroic Van de Ven recovery tackle in the 55th minute — before the Dutch broke through via their bench. Wout Weghorst, on as a substitute, flicked a ball forward for Crysencio Summerville to race onto, and the scuffed pass that followed found Cody Gakpo, who finished from close range in the 79th minute. It was, by the match report's own description, an exceptional moment for a player who'd had a difficult personal week. 1-0 Netherlands.
Monterrey, heavily behind Morocco, got its twist in stoppage time. Substitute Ilias Talbi whipped in a cross, and Issa Diop — a defender who only recently committed his international future to Morocco — guided a header past Verbruggen in the 91st minute. 1-1, and for the first time in the tournament, two teams with perfect or near-perfect records headed to extra time together.
Extra time stayed mostly quiet, save for a brilliant Verbruggen save to deny Hakimi early on, and the match went to penalties. There, the tension built kick by kick: Koopmeiners scored, El Aynaoui cannoned his off the bar, Kluivert missed, Rahimi squeezed one through Verbruggen's legs, Weghorst scored, Talbi scored, Timber dragged his wide, captain Hakimi — of all people — missed off the post, Summerville was saved by Bounou, and Ismael Saibari, the very player this site's own preview had circled as the one to watch, stepped up and calmly slotted the winner. Morocco 3-2 on penalties. The Netherlands, perfect through the group stage, are out.
The preview called for a Bounou save and a Saibari winning penalty to decide this one — and that's exactly what happened, beat for beat, even though the scoreline, the other goalscorers, and the route to get there were all completely different.
Denied by Van de Ven when clean through in normal time, then the captain who missed his own side's chance to win it from the spot — Saibari cleaned up after him on both occasions, in the build-up before half-time and in the shootout itself.
Having recently thrown his international future behind Morocco rather than France, Diop's first World Cup goal arrives in the 91st minute of a knockout match, sending the game to extra time.
Morocco advance to the Round of 16 to face Canada (winners of Match 073) on Saturday, July 4, at NRG Stadium in Houston — the very same stadium that hosted Match 074 the day before this one. The Netherlands are eliminated despite a perfect group stage; manager Ronald Koeman had flagged his side's recent shootout history as a concern before the match, and it proved prophetic.
Match 076 was the fourth fixture of a 16-match Round of 32 running through July 3. See the complete bracket for the other pairings.