Monterrey, 29 June 2026. The Netherlands and Morocco met at the Estadio BBVA in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup – the first knockout round in the history of an expanded 48-team tournament. After a 1–1 draw following extra time, Morocco won the penalty shootout and advance to the round of 16.
A clash between the world's top-ranked sides
The 2026 World Cup marks a structural watershed: for the first time, 48 teams are competing at a World Cup, split across 12 groups of four. Thirty-two sides reach the knockout round: the twelve group winners, twelve runners-up and the eight best third-placed teams. The round of 32 is therefore the first knockout round of any kind – a format that differs fundamentally from the 32-team tournament in place until 2022, when the knockout phase began at the round of 16. Morocco (FIFA ranking 6th) and the Netherlands (FIFA ranking 7th) represented, according to AP, the highest combined world-ranking pairing of all 16 round-of-32 ties. The Netherlands had topped Group F, while Morocco had made history in 2022 as the first African side to reach a World Cup semi-final. Both teams arrived with identical group-stage records: two wins, one draw.
Gakpo scores – and breaks down in tears
The first half ended goalless. Head coach Ronald Koeman set his side up in a 3-4-2-1, while Morocco under Mohamed Ouahbi operated in a 4-2-3-1. The opening period was evenly contested, with neither side producing a clear-cut chance. Early in the second half, in the 47th minute, Issa Laye Lucas Jean Diop was shown a yellow card – a booking that would take on greater significance later in the match.
The breakthrough came in the 72nd minute: Cody Mathès Gakpo converted after a pass from Crysencio Summerville to make it 1–0 to the Netherlands. What followed was more than a celebration: Gakpo broke down in tears after scoring – the match took place shortly after he and his partner Noa van der Bij had publicly announced the loss of their unborn child. The goal was his ninth tournament strike across World Cups and European Championships combined, drawing him level with Robin van Persie and leaving him just one goal short of Dennis Bergkamp's all-time Dutch record of ten.
Diop rescues Morocco – shootout settles it
Head coach Ouahbi responded with a series of substitutions. In the 87th minute, Chemsdine Talbi came on for El Khannouss. The substitute made an immediate impact: in the 91st minute, Talbi crossed from the left and Issa Laye Lucas Jean Diop headed home to make it 1–1. It was Diop – the Fulham centre-back who had only switched his international allegiance from France to Morocco in March 2026, having grown up in Toulouse with Moroccan roots on his mother's side – who scored in what was arguably the most important match of his career in a Morocco shirt.
Extra time produced no further goals. Morocco won the penalty shootout and the Netherlands are eliminated in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup.
