The Sports Guru
Haiti were already out and had nothing to protect, which is exactly what made them dangerous. This covers a six-goal Group C finale in Atlanta, the two leads Haiti held and the Wilson Isidor strike that lit it up, and how Morocco's quality and two late goals saw the 2022 semi-finalists through as runners-up.
A team with nothing to lose is a problem nobody wants in the final group game, and for an hour Morocco discovered why. Haiti, already knocked out before kick-off, played as though the result was a formality they intended to spoil, and twice led the 2022 semi-finalists in front of 68,239 in Atlanta. It took Morocco until the 78th minute to lead for the first time, and two late goals, from Soufiane Rahimi and Gessime Yassine, to turn a nervy night into a 4-2 win that confirmed them as Group C runners-up. The scoreline was harsh on Haiti. Most of the football was not.
Haiti lead, and lead again
Haiti needed only 10 minutes to go ahead, Lenny Joseph applying the finish to a flowing move, the goal later recorded as a Yassine Bounou own goal. It was the start the Caribbean side wanted and the one Morocco least expected. Their response was not immediate. Johny Placide, the Haiti goalkeeper, produced an outstanding double save on the half-hour to deny first Achraf Hakimi and then Ayoub El Kaabi, the kind of passage that hints a side is about to be made to pay for its profligacy.
Hakimi did level on 39 minutes, bundling the ball home after a weak Placide parry, but parity lasted four minutes. Wilson Isidor, the Sunderland forward, smashed in a stunning second after slack Moroccan clearing to put Haiti back in front and the contest on its head. There was still time for one more swing before the interval. Ismael Saibari placed a finish past Placide on 45 minutes to make it 2-2, a breathless end to a half that had produced four goals and very little control from either side.
Morocco's class tells late
The second half was a quieter, more deliberate affair, and that suited the side with the better players. Morocco gradually wrested control of a game that had been refusing to stay still, and on 78 minutes finally went in front. Rahimi met a flicked-on corner and finished on the turn, a striker's goal in a game that had been decided mostly by chaos. For the first time all night, Morocco were ahead on merit rather than by snatching parity back.
The fourth, on 89 minutes, carried a footnote. Yassine scored his first international goal to settle matters, the strike surviving a VAR check on whether the ball had stayed in play before the move. It had, the goal stood, and Morocco had the cushion their second-half display deserved. Two late goals had spared them an awkward inquest, and turned a night of repeated equalising into a comfortable-looking final margin.
Through, but with work to do
Morocco progress as runners-up in Group C and will face the winners of Group F in the round of 32, where Netherlands currently sit top but both Japan and Sweden can still finish first. It is not the seeding a team of Morocco's ambition would have chosen, and the manner of this performance, having earlier held Brazil to a draw and beaten Scotland in the group, will give their coaching staff plenty to chew on. A defence that conceded twice to a side already eliminated will not survive contact with the tournament's better forwards.
For Haiti, there is no shame in this. At only their second World Cup, beaten here but having pushed Morocco far harder than a 4-2 reading suggests, and earlier tested by Brazil, they leave the tournament with their reputation enhanced rather than dented. They scored twice against one of the competition's dark horses, led them twice, and went out swinging. Isidor's strike will be the image they take home. On this evidence, it will not be the last the world sees of this Haiti side.
Frequently Asked Questions
Morocco beat Haiti 4-2 in their Group C finale at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, watched by 68,239. Haiti twice led, through an early goal recorded as a Yassine Bounou own goal and a Wilson Isidor strike, but Morocco hit back each time and scored twice late through Soufiane Rahimi on 78 minutes and Gessime Yassine on 89. Achraf Hakimi and Ismael Saibari got Morocco's other goals.
Yes. The 4-2 win confirmed Morocco as runners-up in Group C and booked their place in the round of 32. They will face the winners of Group F, a group in which Netherlands currently lead but Japan and Sweden can still finish top. Morocco, who reached the semi-finals at the 2022 World Cup, go through but conceded twice to an already-eliminated Haiti side along the way.
Soufiane Rahimi put Morocco ahead for the first time on 78 minutes, finishing on the turn from a flicked-on corner. Gessime Yassine then added a fourth on 89 minutes for his first international goal, a strike that survived a VAR check on whether the ball had stayed in play in the build-up. The two goals turned a 2-2 game into a 4-2 win and secured second place in the group.
Haiti, already eliminated before kick-off at only their second World Cup, gave an excellent account of themselves. They led twice in Atlanta, first through an early goal and then through a stunning Wilson Isidor effort, and pushed Morocco far harder than the 4-2 scoreline suggests. Goalkeeper Johny Placide also made an outstanding double save in the first half. They leave the tournament with their reputation enhanced.
Wilson Isidor is the Sunderland forward who scored Haiti's second goal against Morocco, smashing in a stunning strike on 43 minutes after slack Moroccan defending to put his side back in front. It was one of the standout individual moments of the game and capped a spirited Haiti display. The goal briefly gave Haiti a 2-1 lead before Morocco equalised again before half-time.
Sources: Final score, goalscorers and minutes, the Yassine Bounou own goal, the Placide double save, the VAR check on Morocco's fourth, venue, attendance, Haiti's eliminated status and second World Cup, and the Group C and round-of-32 qualification picture, as reported in Sky Sports' coverage of Morocco 4-2 Haiti at the World Cup.
