Ismael Saibari scored his second goal of the World Cup 2026 after 71 seconds as Morocco became the first team to score against Scotland at the tournament in Boston on Friday.
PSV forward Saibar latched on to Brahim Diaz’s lofted pass and struck from a tight angle inside the box, showing again why Bayern Munich are poised to sign the 25-year-old following his 21st-minute goal in the Atlas Lions’ opening 1-1 draw with Brazil.
“He looks a class player,” former Scotland striker Ally McCoist told ITV. “The finish against Brazil was deft but that was sheer power. The finish is absolutely ridiculous.”
World Cup 2026: Scotland ‘must regroup’ vs Morocco
McCoist said defender Grant Hanley had misjudged Scotland’s offside trap to allow Saibari to score.
“Just a poor decision from the centre-back,” rued McCoist. “He goes to step out and he goes at the wrong time and leaves [Saibari] onside.”
Victory would guarantee Scotland a place in the knockout stage following their 1-0 win over Haiti on matchday one.
“I wouldn’t have thought they will open up too early,” predicted McCoist. “They’ll keep the same approach.
“They’ve just got to regroup, take shape, get some possession of the ball and play their way into the game.”
World Cup 2026: Scotland confirmed team vs Morocco
Defender Scott McKenna was out with a calf injury for Scotland, who brought in Kieran Tierney, Nathan Patterson and Ryan Christie.
Aaron Hickey, Ben Gannon-Doak and Lawrence Shankland made way.
Scotland starting XI: Angus Gunn, Andy Robertson, Grant Hanley, Kieran Tierney, Jack Hendry, Nathan Patterson, Scott McTominay, John McGinn, Ryan Christie, Lewis Ferguson, Che Adams
Scotland substitutes: Liam Kelly, Craig Gordon, Aaron Hickey, John Souttar, Dominic Hyam, Anthony Ralston, Scott McKenna, Tyler Fletcher, Kenny McLean, Lyndon Dykes, Ross Stewart, Ben Gannon-Doak, George Hirst, Lawrence Shankland, Findlay Curtis
World Cup 2026: Morocco full line up vs Scotland
Morocco were unchanged.
Morocco starting XI: Yassine Bounou, Achraf Hakimi, Noussair Mazraoui, Issa Diop, Chadi Riad, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Azzedine Ounahi, Ismael Saibari, Bilal El Khannouss, Neil El Aynaoui, Brahim Diaz
Morocco substitutes: Munir El Kajoui, Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti, Marwane Saadane, Zakaria El Ouahdi, Youssef Belammari, Redouane Halhal, Anass Salah Eddine, Sofyan Amrabat, Chemseddine Talbi, Samir El Moukabit, Gessime Yassine, Soufiane Rahimi, Amine Sbai, Ayoub El Kaabi, Ayoube Amaimouni
Where to watch Scotland vs Morocco: TV channel, live online streams
Kick-off on Friday was at 23:00 BST (18:00 ET / 15:00 PT). In the UK, live coverage is on ITV1.
Fans can stream the action via ITV’s website and ITVX app, which is available on a vast variety of devices for viewing on the go.
Scotland vs Morocco: World Cup 2026 stats
- These sides’ only previous encounter was during the group stage of the 1998 finals, Morocco winning 3-0 for their largest-ever World Cup victory
- Scotland have won eight of their last 11 competitive matches (D1 L2) and five of their last six (L1), with their only defeats coming home and away to Greece
- John McGinn has scored 21 goals under manager Steve Clarke for Scotland, which is the joint-most goals by a player under a single Scotland manager along with Denis Law under Ian McColl (21 in 21 games)
- The Tartan Army could win more than one game and consecutive games at a single major tournament for the first time
- Clarke is leading Scotland at a third major tournament following EURO 2020 and EURO 2024, which is more than any other head coach for the national team
- Including EURO appearances, Scotland have failed to surpass the opening round in any of their 12 previous attempts at major competitions
- Nine of Morocco’s last 12 World Cup matches have come against European teams, with no side playing as many games at the tournament against European opposition since the 2018 finals
- Morocco have lost one of their last six World Cup group matches against European opposition (W2 D3) – a 1-0 defeat against Portugal in 2018
- They are unbeaten in their last five group stage matches at the World Cup (W2 D3), which is the joint-best run by an African nation: Cameroon were unbeaten in five between 1982 and 1990 and Senegal had five unbeaten group games between 2002 and 2018
- Reigning African Footballer of the Year Achraf Hakimi made more tackles (26) than any other player at the 2022 World Cup and recorded the second-most ground duels won (41)
- Midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi was France Under-21 captain until the midfielder’s switch to Morocco was approved in May. Brahim Diaz, who top-scored at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations with five goals, was born in Spain
