Soufiane Rahimi and Gessime Yassine both came off the bench to inspire Morocco to a dramatic 4-2 comeback win over Haiti on Wednesday, a result that ended the Caribbean side’s hopes of securing a first-ever World Cup point.
Morocco, who made history four years ago by becoming the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final in Qatar, were forced to recover twice against a Haitian side appearing on football’s biggest stage for the first time in 52 years.
Rahimi’s deflected strike in the 78th minute turned the game around, putting Morocco ahead for the first time at 3-2, before Yassine sealed the victory in the 89th minute to shut down any remaining chance of a shock result.
The win ensured Morocco progressed to the round of 32 in second place in Group C, behind Brazil. The five-time champions defeated Scotland 3-0 in the other group fixture.
Fresh off winning the Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco continue to carry high expectations of another deep run, though they were made to work hard by a Haiti side ranked 74 places lower in the FIFA standings.
Haiti stunned their opponents early, taking the lead in the 10th minute through a goal that carried historic significance.
Lenny Joseph’s back-heeled finish at the near post beat Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, marking Haiti’s first World Cup goal since Emmanuel Sanon scored in 1974, their only previous appearance at the tournament.
Morocco responded with pressure and eventually levelled in the 39th minute through Achraf Hakimi.
Haiti goalkeeper Johny Placide got a touch to Bilal El Khannouss’ deflected cross but could not keep out Hakimi’s close-range finish.
Despite Morocco’s growing dominance, Haiti struck again four minutes later when Wilson Isidor curled a stunning effort from outside the box into the top corner.
The end-to-end first half still had one more twist, as Ismael Saibari latched onto Hakimi’s cross and swept it past Placide in stoppage time to make it 2-2 at the break.
It was Saibari’s third goal of the tournament.
