After 120 minutes of play, Morocco defeated Spain 0-0 (3-0 on penalties) to move to the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals in Qatar.
Spain won the penalty shootout thanks to two Bono saves.
Spain/Morocco will meet the winner of Tuesday’s second Round of 16 match, Portugal versus Switzerland, in the final eight.
The game was the second consecutive day of penalties, following Croatia’s victory over Japan on Monday.
Morocco held off Spain for nearly the whole 120 minutes thanks to a well-organized defensive effort and determination. Walid Regragui’s side was content to give Spain control and then try to prevent them from accomplishing anything with it. It was a sound tactic that kept Spain at bay for large chunks of the game.
Marco Asensio had the first genuine chance of the first half in the 27th minute, but his shot hit the side netting.
Morocco was given their first opportunity minutes later. Noussair Mazraoui received a pass from Ferran Torres and shot from distance, but Simon knocked it down and collected it before Youssef En-Nasyri could pounce on the rebound.
In the 42nd minute, Morocco should have taken the lead. The wonderful cross from Sofiane Boufal found Nayef Aguerd, but the West Ham defender headed wide.
La Roja began the second half with more vigour, but little to show for it.
In the 54th minute, Hakimi dragged Pedri to the ground, and the referee awarded the free kick. In Spain’s first shot on goal, Asensio set up Dani Olmo, whose effort was comfortably handled by Bono.
As Spain pressed for a goal, Luis Enrique introduced Alvaro Morata, who has three goals in the World Cup so far. Aguerd’s perfectly timed challenge in the 69th minute ended Morata’s chance.
In the 78th, Olmo skied a shot over the bar from just outside the area, putting an end to another Spanish wave. Minutes later, the Moroccan defense dealt with an appealing cross to the near post by Nico Williams, stopping Olmo from scoring.
Morata slipped in behind the defense in the 82nd minute and cut a ball across the face of goal from a tight angle as Spain heaped on the pressure.
In the 85th minute, Walid Cheddira’s superb cross to the far post was not enough to frighten Simon.
In the opening minute of stoppage time, a Spanish free kick to the far post found an unmarked Morata, but his header was feeble and went far over the bar.
Spain completed 685 passes and fired only five shots over the 90-minute span.
Williams, who entered the game in the 75th minute as a second-half substitute and proceeded to make an impact in extra time, nearly connected with Morata at the near post in the 96th. Athletic Bilbao’s cross was superb, but Morata couldn’t reach it with his head, falling just short.
In the 103rd, Simon delivered his biggest contribution of the night. In the first half of extra time, Azzedine Ouhani sprung Cheddira with a brilliant through pass, but Simon sprinted out to cut the angle and save his low effort for Morocco’s best chance of the match.
Cheddira had another excellent run late in the second half of stoppage time, but he was stopped by two markers and Simon. The Bari forward quickly understood that he should have taken use of his opportunity more thoroughly.
In the final second of stoppage time, Spain thought they had a winner. Ansu Fati found Pablo Sarabia racing towards the far post, but his effort was blocked on the final kick of the 120-minute period, which should have resulted in a goal.
Spain was eliminated on penalties for the fifth time in World Cup history, and they were eliminated on penalties in the Round of 16 for the second World Cup in a row after a scoreless 120 minutes.