Marcos Llorente Carlos Soler Sergio Busquets Marco Asensio Luis Enrique Pablo Sarabia Qatar Spain Switzerland Portugal Italy Brazil Madrid Japan Morocco soccer FIFA World Cup cup on penalties Marcos Llorente Carlos Soler Sergio Busquets Marco Asensio Luis Enrique Pablo Sarabia Qatar Spain Switzerland Portugal Italy Brazil Madrid Japan Morocco

Morocco dump Spain out on penalties to reach historic World Cup quarters

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Achraf Hakimi struck the decisive penalty to send Spain crashing out and Morocco into the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time, winning 3-0 in a shoot-out on Tuesday after a 0-0 draw.Spain coach Luis Enrique had claimed his players prepared by taking 1,000 penalties as homework but Pablo Sarabia, Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets all missed from the spot and Madrid-born Hakimi dinked his home to the delight of Morocco's raucous support.Walid Regragui's side will face Portugal or Switzerland in what is uncharted territory for them, with their previous best a last-16 exit in 1986.Spain had been hoping they could repeat their 2010 World Cup triumph after reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2020, where they were also beaten on penalties by Italy.The teams were closely matched through a nail-biting clash, with Spain having more of the ball but Morocco creating the better openings, few though they were.Luis Enrique trialled his third right-back of the tournament in Marcos Llorente, and benched the team's top scorer Alvaro Morata for Marco Asensio, after the shock defeat by Japan.Spain monopolised the ball, with Morocco's fans furiously whistling with their side out of possession.Morocco, who are the last African and Arab side left standing at the first World Cup held in an Arab country, were intensely backed and their fans greatly outnumbered Spain's.With La Roja playing in a pale blue second strip, they resembled the away team on hostile territory.Gavi, who at 18 years and 123 days old became the youngest player to start a World Cup knockout game since Brazil great Pele in 1958, rose to the occasion.The Barcelona midfield terrier was at his most intense, smashing into challenges left, right and centre, even diving to make

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Spain’s coach Luis Enrique arrives with some members of Spain team at the Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas airport on the outskirts of Madrid on December 7, 2022, one day after being disqualified from the Qatar 2022 World Cup football tournament. – Spain was defeated by Morocco in the last 16 yesterday, falling 3-0 on penalties after 120 goalless minutes. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP)
DOHA: Spain sacked coach Luis Enrique on Thursday after the 2010 champions were dumped out of the World Cup by Morocco at the last-16 stage earlier this week. Luis de la Fuente was named as Spain's new coach, shortly after the former was sacked on the same day. “Both the president, Luis Rubiales, and the sporting director, Jose Francisco Molina, have told the coach their decision,” the Spanish FA said in a statement.
Luis Enrique has left his role as coach of Spain's national team after the country crashed out of the World Cup by losing on penalties to Morocco.
Spain sacked coach Luis Enrique on Thursday after the 2010 champions were dumped out of the World Cup by Morocco at the last-16 stage earlier this week.

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