Morocco’s national U20 football team has secured a spot in the quarterfinals of the FIFA U20 World Cup following a hard-fought 2–1 win over South Korea on the night of Oct 10 at Estadio El Teniente en Rancagua, Chile.
The match was marked by a standout performance from striker Yassir Zabiri, who was named Man of the Match after scoring both goals for the Atlas Cubs.
Zabiri, a product of the Mohammed VI Football Academy and currently playing for Portuguese team Famalicão, opened the scoring in the 9th minute with an acrobatic effort that was later recorded as an own goal. He doubled Morocco’s lead in the second half with a precise header in the 58th minute.
South Korea managed to pull one back late in the game through a penalty, but Morocco held firm to preserve their lead and advance to the next round.
With this victory, Morocco continues its impressive run in the tournament and will face the United States in the quarterfinals on Sunday, October 12, after the Americans defeated Italy 3–0 earlier in the day.
Morocco remains the only African team still in contention, and the squad now looks to emulate its historic 2005 campaign, when it reached the semifinals of the U20 World Cup.