The Morocco national team grabbed a valuable point in their first World Cup match, drawing 0-0 with their Croatian counterparts, as Japan beat Germany in Group E.
The Morocco-Croatia match was played at Al-Bayt Stadium as part of the first round of Group F competitions, which also includes Belgium and Canada.
Belgium and Canada will meet at 19:00 GMT at the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium.
The Moroccan national team is participating in the World Cup for the sixth time. This is the sixth draw for the “Atlas Lions” in their participation in the finals, in exchange for two wins and nine losses.
With this draw, the Arab teams continue their good results in the World Cup in Qatar, where Saudi Arabia beat Argentina by two goals to one, while Tunisia drew with Denmark.
The match between Morocco and Croatia started with calmness and caution from both teams, especially the Moroccan national team, and the ball remained in the middle of the field for most of the match.
image copyright Reuters
Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou blocked a dangerous attack in the 45th minute of the match, following a strike from inside the penalty area by Kramaric.
Croatia started the second half with heavy pressure, hoping to score a goal, and Croatia’s most dangerous attack came in the 51st minute when Diane Lovren hit a ball from inside the penalty area, which Sofiane Mrabet has removed from the goal line.
In the 72nd minute the Moroccan defense almost scored an own goal, but the ball went over the crossbar.
The match ended in a goalless draw, making it the third game without a goal, after matches between Tunisia and Denmark, Mexico and Poland.
The Atlas Lions take on Belgium in the second round of this group fixtures on Sunday, before facing Canada in the third round on Thursday.
Morocco has a very good record against European teams in World Cup finals as they drew with Bulgaria in the 1970 World Cup, drew with Poland and England and beat Portugal in the 1986 World Cup, drew with Norway and beat Scotland in the 1998 World Cup, and drew against Spain in the 2018 World Cup.
Real Madrid star Luka Modric became the first Croatian player to appear in the World Cup finals four times and the most Croatian player to play matches in the World Cup with 13 games.
Japan disables German cars
In Group E, the Japanese national team made a big surprise by beating Germany by two goals to one, in the match played at the Khalifa International Stadium.
The German team dominated most of the match, while Japan relied on quick counter-attacks.
Germany advanced through a penalty kick from Ilkay Gundogan in the 33rd minute, and the German national team players missed a number of easy chances.
In the 75th minute Japan equalized with a goal signed by Ritsu Down, before adding the second goal in the 83rd minute with Takuma Asano.
With this surprising result, Germany’s task of progressing to the second round was complicated by the presence of the strong Spanish side, alongside Costa Rica.
