The drums of the Morocco ultras behind the goal suggested the outcome had been favourable. A high-tempo rat-a-tat-tat broke out on the final whistle, echoing the energy of the north Africans' performance as they took a point from the 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia in an engaging goalless draw.
Quite what the result means for either side - in a group that, short of other options, has received the label "group of death" - remains to be seen. But for Morocco this was a moment to seize upon, while for Croatia it was not an occasion to overreact.
Clearcut chances were limited at the Al Bayt stadium, a venue once again offering the dissonant effect of a patchy crowd with a lusty atmosphere. Two moments either side of half-time were the best of them. First, the Morocco goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou, appeared like a bullet from the blue sky to keep out a poked effort from Nikola Vlasic. Second, Dominik Livakovic parried a Sofiane Boufal drive and then blocked a header from Azzedine Ounahi to keep the scores level.
This story is from the November 24, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the November 24, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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