Ismael Saibari fires Morocco past Scotland and level with Brazil in Group C

Ismael Saibari struck inside two minutes and Morocco controlled the rest, beating Scotland 1-0 in Boston to move level with Brazil at the top of Group C. Scotland failed to register a shot on target.

Morocco served notice of their World Cup intentions, beating Scotland 1-0 at Gillette Stadium in Boston to move level with Brazil at the top of Group C. Ismael Saibari settled it inside two minutes, and Walid Regragui's side controlled almost everything that followed.

There was barely time to settle into seats. Morocco pressed high from the first whistle, won the ball in a dangerous area, and Saibari arrived to finish in the second minute. It was the perfect start for the African side and the worst kind of opening for a Scotland team that never quite recovered the initiative.

From there Morocco ran the game. Achraf Hakimi bombed forward at every opportunity from right-back, the midfield kept the ball with ease, and the 2022 semi-finalists piled up twelve shots and two-thirds of possession. Winning by a single goal flattered Scotland more than it frustrated Morocco.

Scotland never tested Yassine Bounou in the Moroccan goal. The damning figure from Boston was zero, the number of Scottish shots on target across the ninety minutes. Scott McTominay and John McGinn tried to carry their side up the pitch, and Andy Robertson overlapped down the left, but the final ball kept letting them down.

Steve Clarke's men had opened the tournament with a hard-earned win over Haiti, yet this was a jump in class they could not live with. Che Adams chased lost causes up front and the lively Ben Doak came off the bench to add some spark, but Morocco's back line dealt with the lot.

Morocco look like one of the most complete teams at this World Cup. They drew with Brazil in their opener and have now seen off Scotland without being seriously troubled. The win lifts them level with Brazil on four points, split only by goal difference, and sets up a tense finish to the group.

For African football, Morocco remain the standard-bearers, carrying the belief of their 2022 run into another tournament. Our Africa round-one verdict had marked them out as the continent's best hope, and afternoons like this explain why. Organised, ruthless on the front foot, and comfortable without the ball, they tick every box.

There is real history behind the swagger. In 2022, Morocco became the first African and first Arab nation to reach a World Cup semi-final, knocking out Spain and Portugal along the way and turning millions of neutrals into believers. That run was no accident of one hot month. It was the payoff from a long project: a federation that poured money into academies, a recruitment drive that tracked down the best Moroccan talent raised across Europe, and a golden generation that has only matured since.

The blueprint has not changed, and that is the whole point. Regragui's side defend as a disciplined unit, break at speed through Hakimi down the right, and trust Bounou to sweep up behind. It is not always box-office, and it does not need to be. Much of this squad learned the game in the academies of the Netherlands, France, Spain and Belgium before choosing the red of Morocco, and that blend of continental polish and national hunger is what makes them so awkward to face.

The question now is not whether Morocco belong among the contenders, but how far they can go. No African nation has ever reached a World Cup final. Morocco came within one match of it last time, and a tournament staged across North America, roared on by a huge diaspora, feels made for them. Top this group and a kinder route could open up. The whole continent, Kenya included, will be glued to the screen to see whether the Atlas Lions can take that final step.

For Kenyan fans, Morocco are an easy side to get behind, an African team playing with the swagger and structure of the world's elite. Morocco wamekuja kucheza, si kushiriki tu: Morocco have come to play, not just to take part. On this evidence, the Atlas Lions are built to go deep once more.