Belgium 0-2 Morocco player ratings: Brilliant Boufal and Ziyech show up dismal Hazard and Witsel
2 years ago
Boufal #Boufal
Sofiane Boufal and Hakim Ziyech inspired Morocco to only their third ever World Cup win as they saw off Belgium in an electric Thumama Stadium.
Ziyech had a goal ruled out just before half-time but it was Abdelhamid Sabiri who produced a very similar free-kick after the break to exploit Thibaut Courtois’s poor positioning and put the well-supported Moroccans into the lead.
Belgium threw on the convalescing Romelu Lukaku for his first appearance at the World Cup but it was all in vain and Zakaria Aboukhal turned in Ziyech’s pullback in stoppage time to seal the three points.
It means Morocco are now top of Group F and primed to reach the last 16 for the first time since 1986.
More from Football Belgium player ratings (3-4-2-1)
Thibaut Courtois – Was unsighted by Romain Saiss for the goal but will be extremely disappointed to have been beaten by a free-kick that was basically a corner. 4.
Thomas Meunier – Still without much football in his legs since breaking his cheek bone five weeks ago, and it showed. Often rash in defence, offered little going forward. 4.
Toby Alderweireld – Ineffectual. Showed up by his great defensive partner and friend Vertonghen, who was arguably Belgium’s best player. 5.
Jan Vertonghen – Some crucial interventions when Morocco’s talented front three threatened to open them up. Nearly bagged a goal with late header too. 7.
Timothy Castagne – Less than 20 per cent of his passes were in the Morocco half, which when you consider he was playing wing-back for most of the game. 5.
Amadou Onana – Effective off the bench against Canada and given chance to prove himself from the stat, but did not add the incisiveness of pass Martinez wanted. Header was statistically the best chance of the game and ballooned over the bar. Crooked after 60 minutes. 5.
Axel Witsel – Summed up his night when he was mugged in stoppage time in his own half. Did not physically impose himself on the game, again. 4.
Thorgan Hazard – Well-weighted ball created Belgium’s first real chance but Batshuayi could not beat the keeper. Was taken off in the second half but did okay. 6.
Kevin De Bruyne – Was embarrassed to be awarded man of the match against Canada, but didn’t channel much of that into this performance. Was Belgium’s main attacking threat, as he often is, but could not break the Moroccans down. 6.
Eden Hazard – After three halves of sluggish football, the Belgium captain showed a bit of his old magic just after the break, jinking past one defender and working the keeper at the near post. But he only lasted another 10 minutes and is so obviously not match fit. 4.
Michy Batshuayi – With Romelu Lukaku still not fit to start, Batshuayi once again had to lead the line. Had an early sight of goal but few others. Is half the player of the regular No 9, at best. 5.
Substitutes
Dries Mertens – At 35, was Martinez’s first man brought on to change the game. He did not. 5.
Youri Tielemans – The sort of game he probably should have started to unpick Morocco’s midfield. 5.
Leandro Trossard – Bizarre that one of the Premier League’s form forwards cannot get into this team. 7.
Charles De Ketelaere – Has a bright future at AC Milan, so experienced observes say. Showed no evidence here. 6.
Romelu Lukaku – Clearly not fit enough but put himself about in the closing stages. 6.
Roberto Martinez: We need to get stronger together
“At the moment we conceded the goal we lost our composure too much and we couldn’t get ourselves back in the final third with more thought.
“We knew Morocco were getting bodies behind the ball and we couldn’t break them down. The game went away from us the moment we conceded the goal.
“We need to make sure that we get stronger together and we’ll get ready for the third game.”
Morocco player ratings (4-3-3)
Munir Mohamedi – The latest of late replacements, called into the starting line-up just a minute or two before kick-off, so perhaps understandable that communication with defenders seemed a bit hare-brained early on. Solid after that though. 7.
Achraf Hakimi – Often Morocco’s best player and did get sting Courtois’s gloves with a firmly struck shot. 7.
Nayef Aguerd – Slid wonderfully to cut out De Bruyne’s slide-rule pass that surely would have been stroked in by Batshuayi. 8.
Romain Saiss – That is now six clean sheets in a row for this team. A nuisance at free-kicks who can claim an assist for his run across the face of Courtois. 8.
Noussair Mazraoui – Showed why Bayern Munich put his name on a four-year contract in May at left and then right-back when Hakimi came off. 8.
Azzedine Ounahi – Not his best night. Might find himself benched against Canada. 6.
Sofyan Amrabat – Absolutely crucial to Morocco’s defensive efforts, hoovering up space and breaking up the supply of possession to De Bruyne whenever he could. 8.
Selim Amallah – Belgium born and bred, this was a big night for Standard Liege’s midfielder, who will not forget this result any time soon. 7.
Hakim Ziyech – Great early run down the right but could not find a final ball. Fired an early sighter over the bar and then had a goal rightly disallowed before half-time. Lovely bit of skill to set up the second goal and ice the game. 8.
Youssef En-Nesyri – Struggled to offer much of an outlet as Morocco were often limited to counter-attacking football that rarely came off and first touch let him down on multiple occasions. 5.
Sofiane Boufal – Very nearly opened the scoring just before the hour mark, skinning Meunier and looking to bend it into the far corner, shaving a coat of paint off the post. A repeated thorn in the Belgian side. 8.
Substitutes
Yahia Attiyat-Allah – Provided much-needed fresh legs in defence. 7.
Abdelhamid Sabiri – Whipped free-kick to the near post was struck well and with pace but should never have gone in. A massive goal for the former Huddersfield Town man. 7.
Abderrazak Hamdallah – Has probably earned himself a place in the starting XI after showing far more ability to hold the ball up than En-Nesyri. 7.
Zakaria Aboukhal – Fine finish to seal the result. 7.
Jawad El Yamiq – Late replacement. n/a
Didier Drogba on Morocco boss Walid Regragui
“This is good for all the African managers. What we saw today is a great example of what you have to do to win at the World Cup.”
