Morocco World Cup 2026 Injuries Mazraoui Ezzalzouli Norway Draw

The medical room has become the main concern for coach Mohamed Ouahbi. Played at the Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, the match was first disrupted by the premature exit of Noussair Mazraoui in the 29th minute, urgently replaced by Youssef Belammari. The situation worsened at half-time with the injury of striker Abdessamad Ezzalzouli, forced to abandon his teammates and give way to Soufiane Rahimi for the second half.

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Before leaving the pitch, Ezzalzouli had nonetheless dictated the offensive tempo. From the eighth minute, his clever assist found Brahim Diaz, who opened the scoring with a well-placed shot in the lower left corner of goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland. Despite quick incursions by Ismael Saibari and a big chance wasted by Achraf Hakimi with a grazing shot in the 36th minute, the team failed to break through against the Scandinavians.

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The back line held firm for a long time, preserved by a decisive save by Neil El Aynaoui on his goal line against Antonio Nusa just before the break (45th). Despite a long-range attempt by Sofyan Amrabat around the hour mark, pressure intensified under the impetus of Alexander Sørloth. In the 76th minute, Norwegian captain Martin Ødegaard finally exploited a gap in the defense to beat Yassine Bounou, ending this tactical and physical evaluation in a draw.