Morocco earns its first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup win

In their opening match, Morocco’s women witnessed a humiliating 6-0 loss against Germany. 

Morocco made history with a victorious close-range header that led to the national team’s first-ever Women’s World Cup win against a dominant South Korea.

Ibtissam Jraidi nailed Morocco’s first-ever goal at the tournament with a sixth-minute header that kept the 72nd globally ranked national team’s dreams alive to advance from Group H.

Teammate Hanane Ait El Haj lashed in a cross from the right, and Jraidi dived in with a decisive header that went in at the far post.

The goal proved to be a disaster for opponents South Korea as the 17th-ranked FIFA team held a dominating 63% possession. 

Despite firing off 16 attempts, the South Koreans failed to make any strike count as no shots were made on target. 

South Korea’s Casey Phair, the youngest-ever player to appear at the World Cup, came close to reaching an equalszer in the 87th minute of the match. However, the 16-year-old struck wide, leaving the South Koreans on the brink of elimination. 

Morocco is now level with Germany and Colombia, three points ahead of their next game later on Sunday. The Koreans have zero points and face elimination if the Germans avoid defeat.

Morocco’s win is a welcome feat especially following a devastating 6-0 loss in their opening match at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Despite a lopsided loss against Germany, Morocco will face Colombia on the international pitch this coming Thursday. 

Ranked 25th in the world, the Colombians front roster issues as star player Linda Caicedo collapsed in training days after becoming the youngest player to score in this World Cup. 

As reported by CNN, the 18-year-old is back on her feet and was said to be stressed by coach Nelson Abadia. 

“It’s just an incident, she was tired,” Abadia said. 

“She was a bit stressed as well, because she was playing in her first World Cup … [which] has great relevance. And she’s 18 years of age. She’s a girl as far as football goes. But she has a great capacity and great character to assimilate all of this,” Abadia added. 

The Moroccan team has made history on several fronts at this tournament, playing in the Women’s World Cup for the first time while also boasting the first ever hijabi player at the senior competition.