Key events
35 min Summerville gets the ball in the box from Dumfries, but gets caught in a scramble before he can get a shot off.
33 min Maybe it’s the whistles in the crowd, maybe it’s the whistles on the field (eight fouls now!), but I tend to agree with Tracy that it feels we could see someone sent off in this game. We’ll see how her prediction shapes out.
31 min Saibari makes an enticing move into the box after receiving a cross-field long ball, but he runs straight into Summerville.
31 min From our Jeff Rueter on BlueSky: “Hate that I’m sitting here with thoughts like ‘such a bailout that the Netherlands made it to the hydration break’ and ‘Morocco really must be kicking themselves for not scoring before the drinks.’” The 2026 World Cup!
28 min Ounahi stats a sequence with a beautiful nutmeg of Dumfries to reach El Khannouss, who sends a lovely cross in, but there’s no one there to get a touch on it.
27 min Van Hecke goes down after taking an elbow to the chin in a late mid-air challenge from Ounahi. No card, it appears, however much the Dutch wanted one.
25 min A key part of the Dutch wins in the group stage was midfielder Frenkie de Jong. Our Barney Ronay called him “a footballer who always seems to be played inside his own demilitarised zone”. They’ll want to see him more involved for the rest of this half beyond the 16 touches he has now.
Some emails during the break:
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“I’d bet real American dollars that we see at least one red card tonight. Both teams are excessively zesty so far.” Tracy
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“If Riad runs out of kit, do they switch him into a spray-on jersey?” Sandgk
23 min Hydration break! And the Netherlands will be happy it came when it did. Verbuggen was forced into action for two big saves in the span of a few minutes as Morocco challenged in the box.
21 min Active few minutes for Morocco. They followed the Verbuggen save with a shot that skied high. Seconds later, Hakimi got another chance from the top of the box that forced Verbuggen into another stop.
20 min Morocco win their first corner of the game and Hakimi takes it. Verbuggen makes a strong save on an El Aynaoui header.
17 min The US broadcast reports that Morocco’s Chadi Riad is on his third (third!) jersey of the game because it has been ripped so many times. Thoughts to the Morocco equipment managers.
16 min The Dutch had their first threatening chance waved offside. Summerville got a long ball down the side and took it into the box before trying to lay it off for Brobbey, but a Moroccan defender got a foot on it first and skied it high.
15 min This feels a bit like Morocco’s opening stretch against Brazil in the way they’ve been allowed to attack on the right side.
13 min Lots of whistles so far. Brobbey went down after vying for a ball with Diop but hopped back up. Pretty split possession-wise through the opening 13 minutes.
11 min Saibari gets the ball in the box for Morocco’s first threatening chance of the night, but pulls down Dumfries on his run and gets whistled for a foul.
8 min Plenty of crunching tackles early. Van Hecke and Saibari are sparring after both went for a header.
6 min Even with an extra defender to go against, Hakimi is still dangerous on the right wing. He overhit the cross, but still got behind the Dutch back line on a run.
5 min Patient start to this one from both sides. For Morocco, it’s much different from the frenetic pace with which their group-stage finale against Haiti began a few days ago.
3 min The Netherlands’ first corner is headed out by the Moroccan back line.
2 min Van de Ven is positioned as a left-wing-back in this Dutch back five. Not much forward movement through the first 120 seconds.
1 min We have begun.
Kick-off!
They’re under way on what looks to be a beautiful night in Monterrey. Winner gets Canada in the last 16.
From Justin Kavanagh: “Koeman playing five at the back is a bit worrisome. On occasions like this, where the Dutch has faced dangerously attacking teams, they have a tendency to revert to skullduggery. Think of the 2010 Final against Spain, the 1978 Final v Argentina and, of course, the bloody Battle of Nuremberg against Portugal that ended with, if I remember correctly, two and a half players left on each side at full-time. And then the five of them went to the dressing room to kick lumps out of each other. Of course, it takes two to tango, and I’m sure Morocco can mix it with the best of them. Hope I’m wrong and we get a free-flowing feast of fiesta football in Monterrey tonight.”
Anthems time. The Netherlands are in their all-orange kits for this one. Morocco are in all-white.
Hydration breaks / advert breaks / match breaks / cooling breaks / coffee breaks / whatever you want to call them may actually be useful in this match. The temperature at Estadio Monterrey (which sits at an elevation of 530m/1,740ft) is 31 degrees C / 88 degrees F at kickoff.
Side note: if your local kickoff time is 2am or 3am or beyond and you’re still here watching, I cheers my iced tea to you. No cheers to the schedulers.
Thierry Henry on the US broadcast spotlights the matchup between Denzel Dumfries and Achraf Hakimi as the one to watch. Nearing the walk-outs in Monterrey.
Guardian correspondent Nick Ames may well have the best seat in the house at Estadio Monterrey:
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“This feels like a semi-final,” Chicarito says on the Fox Sports broadcast. Yes, yes, the new format, but it’s still remarkable that we’re getting this match this early in the knockout stage.
Peter from California agrees: “As a fan of flowing, skillful football and flavorful food, I find it sad that only one of these spicy teams will still be in the tournament come Taco Tuesday.”
David Dyte writes in: “I know we want winners from outside the usual powers, but Paraguay did the thing already today and the Netherlands are a special case. Dutch cyclist Joop Zoetemelk finished second in the Tour de France five times before finally winning the damn thing in 1980. I want the same feeling for Dutch football fans, after three agonizing misses in World Cup finals. They deserve it. Morocco can wait.”
The Morocco fans are also out in full force.
David Wrigley chimes in with a note about Bouaddi: “This kid has the potential to be the coolest footballer since Socrates.”
From Tom Hopkins: “A joy of any World Cup is the things you learn about other countries and other cultures. One thing I’ve learned this time is that Mexico has some genuinely beautiful football grounds. Obviously the Azteca is the icon, but both Monterrey and Guadalajara are wonderful bits of architecture.”
Peter Oh also points out: “It’s good that Morocco aren’t playing this match in Guadalajara’s home stadium of Chivas. The nickname Atlas Lions wouldn’t go over well with the local fans.”
29 June is an eventful day in history for these two sides. Thirty-two years ago, in the group stage of the 1994 World Cup, was the first official match between the Netherlands and Morocco. The Dutch won 2-1.
Exactly 12 years ago, at the 2014 World Cup, a … controversial … late penalty took the Netherlands past Mexico and into the quarter-finals. This fan remembers:
What does this 29 June encounter have in store?
The Oranje fans have already set Kansas City, Dallas and Houston alight. Now it’s Monterrey’s turn.
It was a journey of nearly 1,000mi from Missouri to the mountains of northern Mexico, but they made it. And so did their famous bus!
Ronald Koeman has gone more defensive with his XI for this match. Crysencio Summerville swaps in for Donyell Malen on the wing, plus an extra center-back instead of midfielder Tijjani Reijinders. Stacking up to limit Achraf Hakimi on the flank after his goal and assist v Haiti?
Kári Tulinius writes in with thoughts:
“Koeman loves wing play, and having Van de Ven and Dumfries bombing up the field on the touchline feels very Dutch. Also, if the Moroccan defense stays tight, they can cross it towards Brobbey, but should the Atlas Lions engage the wing-backs, Gakpo and Summerville will have room to maneuver.”
Back in the XI for Morocco is teenage midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, a sensation in their tournament opener against Brazil. He’s one of the most sought-after talents at this World Cup: Arsenal, PSG, Bayern Munich and Liverpool are among the clubs watching.
He’s studying for a mathematics and physics degree to “make the most of his free time”. What a coincidence! That’s also how I spent my free time when I was an 18-year-old footballing phenom.
Three players at this World Cup scored in all three group-stage games: Vinícius Júnior, Lionel Messi and Morocco’s Ismael Saibari. The Atlas Lions forward looks bound to join Bayern Munich from PSV Eindhoven after this tournament and has been a breakthrough.
Mary Waltz writes in on the back of that Germany v Paraguay shootout: “All England fans admit it. Germany losing by penalties is the ultimate of Schadenfreud.”
The lack of a clinical goalscorer has hampered the Dutch team in recent years, but Brian Brobbey has been the solution at this World Cup. The Sunderland striker didn’t initially project as a starter; Memphis Depay was their leading scorer up top through qualifying, but he was nursing a thigh injury in the run-up to the tournament.
Brobbey, who had just one international goal in 12 caps entering the World Cup, made his first start against Sweden and has three goals in his three shots on target since. Keep your eye on him during the opening quarter-hour: all three of his goals have come within the first 17 minutes.
Ronald Koeman has opted for a back five for this last-32 tie. Micky van de Ven and Crysencio Summerville, both of whom didn’t start the Tunisia game while on yellow cards, are back in the XI.
A bit of a bold move by Koeman! What do you think?
On the other side, Mohamed Ouahbi makes four changes from the Morocco lineup he started in the group-stage finale against Haiti. Among the notable names back in the XI: left-back Noussair Mazraoui and teenage midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi.
Team news
Netherlands (3-4-3): Verbuggen; Van Hecke, Van Dijk, Aké; Van de Ven, De Jong, Gravenberch, Dumfries; Summerville, Brobbey, Gakpo
Morocco (4-2-3-1): Bounou; Hakimi, Diop, Riad, Mazroui; Bouaddi, El Aynaoui; Brahim, Ounahi, El Khannous; Saibari
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)
Morocco manager Mohamed Ouahbi was asked what would inspire his players to justify the feverish expectation hanging over them. Would they turn to the example of history, or would they draw on something else? “The biggest motivation the players have is to put on the jersey and represent the country,” he began. “That is motivation enough to move mountains.”
Can they move the Cerro de la Silla? From Nick Ames in Monterrey:
Japan exited earlier today, but Morocco still offer hope of a winner from outside the traditional powers. (And after that result, maybe Paraguay should count in that group!)
Jonathan Wilson has more:
Back to this match: the feeling of a Netherlands v Morocco match “is almost that of a derby,” says Jean-Paul Rison, a sports journalist based in Utrecht.
More on the social and cultural ties between these two countries:
Elsewhere in the last 32: penalties!
Preamble
Hello and welcome to one of this World Cup’s most enticing matchups, in both physical beauty – Estadio Monterrey is arguably the most picturesque of the host stadiums – and storylines.
Netherlands v Morocco: the only last-32 tie involving teams who finished the group stage with seven points and who entered the tournament inside the top 10 of Fifa’s rankings. The Dutch finished top of Group F after drawing Japan and beating Sweden and Tunisia; the Atlas Lions were second in Group C, drawing Brazil and beating Scotland and Haiti.
The Netherlands were one of just three teams to hit the 10-goal mark during the group stage. Inserting Brian Brobbey as their striker has added a new dimension to their final third, and now Ronald Koeman’s side are pressing to make an advanced run in the knockouts. Morocco showed their quality and attacking flair through the group stage, dominating early in their draw with Brazil and finding a reliable goalscorer in Bayern-bound Ismael Saibari. This last-32 matchup will be their sternest test yet.
These two sides have a history. Their first-ever meeting was 32 (fitting!) years ago today at the 1994 World Cup. (The Dutch won 2-1.) Many Moroccans moved to the Netherlands in the 1960s, and the street football played between generations of Dutch and Moroccan kids has produced top players for both sides. Three of Morocco’s players in this World Cup squad were born in the Netherlands.
The winner will face Canada on 4 July in Houston. I’ll be back soon with team news and more. In the meantime, send any thoughts to ella.brockway@theguardian.com. And tune in to Rob Smyth’s liveblog for the finish of Germany v Paraguay!
Ella will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s a look from Graham Ruthven’s daily watch guide on what to know about this last-32 matchup:
What to watch for
By scoring eight goals in their last two games, the Netherlands have laid down a marker at this World Cup. The introduction of Brian Brobbey as an orthodox focal point in attack has completely changed the dynamic of Ronald Koeman’s side, making them just as dangerous as any other team left in this competition.
Morocco have also made a positive impression. Indeed, the 2022 semi-finalists are unbeaten in three games and have evolved their game since the last World Cup. The Atlas Lions are now able to control games with the ball and have a number of natural creators. They don’t, however, have an elite-level forward.
Player to watch: Brian Brobbey, Netherlands – The Sunderland forward is a physical threat, but also does a lot to bring the other Dutch attackers into the game. Cody Gakpo, for example, is better for having Brobbey to play off.
