FIFA Arab Cup
The result means Saudi Arabia finish second in the standings and will take on Group A winners Palestine in the quarter-finals on Thursday, while Morocco meet runners-up Syria.
Mohamed Kanno, Salem Al Dawsari and Feras Al Brikan were among the stars who started on the bench for Saudi Arabia, having already booked their spot in the quarter-finals after earlier wins against Oman and Comoros.
Despite that, the West Asian side almost struck in the sixth minute with Murad Al Hawsawi picking out Saleh Abu Al Shamat with a defence-splitting pass, with the latter’s looping header beating Morocco keeper El Mehdi Benabid but not the crossbar.
A defensive mix-up between Saudi Arabia’s Nawaf Bu Washl and Abdulelah Al Amri led to Tarik Tissoudali gaining possession, who then teed up Karim El Berkaoui for a simple finish to put Morocco ahead in the 11th minute.
The remainder of the half saw Saudi Arabia toiling, with Herve Renard’s charges struggling to carve out clear cut chances.
Saudi Arabia came close in the 51st minute when Murad Al Hawsawi released Al Shamatthrough on goal, but the forward shot straight to Benabid, while Saleh Al Shehri was unable to find the target from the edge of the area before sending his glancing header over the bar six minutes later.
Renard brought on Al Brikan, Nasser Al Dawsari and Abdullah Al Hamddan just after the hour mark in a bid to restore parity and their sustained pressure led to Morocco conceding a penalty after Amin Zahzouh’s foul on Al Hamddan, who sent his spot-kick over the bar as the points were lost.
Photos: FIFA by Getty Images
