The 2026 FIFA World Cup is now over, bringing an end to a monstrous 104-game tournament. In this series, I’ll be taking a look at some of the best matches from the tournament. Let’s take a look at the best penalty shootout of the tournament.
One of the best and evenly-contested matchups of the 2026 FIFA World Cup was the Round of 32 matchup between Morocco and the Netherlands. Both teams performed well in the group stage, making it surprising that two high-level sides had to face each other so early in the knockout rounds. The match certainly didn’t disappoint, delivering 120 minutes of elite-level soccer with both teams scoring once.
Both sides had stretches of momentum throughout the match, which featured tense battles, end-to-end action and plenty of chances on goal. After the score remained level at 1-1 following extra time, the match headed to a penalty shootout that was the tournament’s best.
After Morocco missed two of their first three penalties, it looked like the Netherlands were in control. However, the Dutch couldn’t close it out, missing their final two penalties and three of their five attempts overall.
Ismael Saibari calmly converted the decisive penalty for Morocco, sealing one of the most tense and exhilarating penalty shootouts in recent World Cup history.
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