Morocco took a big step towards the next round of the World Cup, taking a very much deserved three points against a poor Belgium side on Sunday.

Abdelhamid Sabiri’s free kick caught out Thibaut Courtois in the 73rd minute before Morocco sealed the 2-0 victory as Zakaria Aboukhlal fired home in injury time.

Belgium made a far better start than they did against Canada, dominating the ball and controlling the match.

For all of their possession though, they couldn’t trouble Morocco goalkeeper Munir, taking just one tame shot on target in the opening 20 minutes.

The African side grew into the game after that, enjoying some possession of their own, but they too couldn’t create any big chances.

Achraf Hakimi came relatively close to opening the scoring in the 34th minute, firing an effort just off target from the right hand side of the box.

Five minutes later, Kevin De Bruyne hit a free kick over the bar at the other end, but he and his team-mates remained incapable of causing Morocco any problems from open play.

Just before the break, Hakim Ziyech thought he’d opened the scoring with a free kick of his own but VAR ruled it out as Romain Saiss was in an offside position and in Courtois‘ eyeline.

Morocco started the second half the stronger of the two sides with Ziyech going close again, having a long shot saved by Courtois shortly before Eden Hazard had a good effort palmed away by Munir. From the corner that followed, Amadou Onana headed over.

Back at the other end, Sofiane Boufal so nearly opened the scoring, curling just wide after being set up by a cross-field pass from Ziyech. With just under an hour gone, the underdogs looked more likely to take the lead.

Roberto Martinez then replaced Hazard with Dries Mertens and the 35-year-old made an instant impact, having a good effort from the edge of the box saved by Munir.

Morocco took control back after that and made a deserved breakthrough in the 73rd minute when Sabiri saw his free kick from out wide go straight into the back of the net.

Martinez called for reinforcements after that, bringing on three attackers including Romelu Lukaku, but a second Morocco goal on the counter looked far more likely than an equaliser.

That goal came in injury time with Ziyech setting up Aboukhlal who fired in to seal the win and put his nation top of the group.

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GK: Thibaut Courtois – 4/10 – Made a few saves but should’ve done a lot better for Morocco’s first goal.

RB: Thomas Meunier – 4/10 – Was really poor at both ends of the pitch, particularly when having to defend.

CB: Toby Alderweireld – 5/10 – Never looked too comfortable at the back on or off the ball.

CB: Jan Vertonghen – 6/10 – Was the better of the two Belgium centre-backs, dominating in the air.

LB: Timothy Castagne – 4/10 – Couldn’t handle Ziyech or cause Morocco any problems going forward.

CM: Amadou Onana – 5/10 – Battled well in midfield but was a little clumsy at times and couldn’t do much with the ball at his feet.

CM: Axel Witsel – 4/10 – Couldn’t do anything good with the ball, losing it more often than not.

RM: Kevin De Bruyne – 4/10 – Didn’t get anywhere near the levels he reaches for his club, unable to conjure up anything decent.

AM: Eden Hazard – 3/10 – Looked a shadow of his former self, completely incapable of taking players on or creating anything whatsoever.

LM: Thorgan Hazard – 6/10 – Was one of Belgium’s better attackers, making some good passes.

CF: Michy Batshuayi – 4/10 – Rarely got involved and was sloppy when he did, missing a decent chance.

SUB: Youri Tielemans (60′ for Onana) – 4/10

SUB: Dries Mertens (60′ for Hazard) – 6/10

SUB: Leandro Trossard (75′ for Hazard) – N/A

SUB: Charles De Ketelaere (75′ for Batshuayi) – N/A

SUB: Romelu Lukaku (81′ for Meunier) N/A
Manager: Roberto Martinez – 3/10 – He doesn’t have as good a squad as he used to, but to make them look *this* bad is some achievement.

GK: Munir – 7/10 – Came in for Bono at the last minute but didn’t look nervous at all, making a few good saves.

RB: Achraf Hakimi – 7/10 – Got forward really well, causing Belgium some problems, and dealt with Thorgan Hazard easily.

CB: Nayef Aguerd – 6/10 – Dealt with Batshuayi with ease and looked solid throughout.

CB: Romain Saiss – 7/10 – Led his backline perfectly, ensuring they never came close to being breached by the Belgian attack.

LB: Noussair Mazraoui – 6/10 – Didn’t get too involved going forward but was good at the back.

CM: Azzedine Ounahi – 6/10 – Made a few good balls but never really asserted himself.

CM: Sofyan Amrabat – 7/10 – As he did in the first match too, he more than held his own, looking better than the big names in the Belgium midfield.

CM: Selim Amallah – 5/10 – Struggled to get involved in the midfield battle.

RW: Hakim Ziyech – 8/10 – Created a number of chances, had a goal harshly ruled out by VAR and deservedly got a really good assist. The best player on the pitch.

CF: Youssef En-Nesyri – 5/10 – Worked hard but wasn’t able to cause problems for the Belgian defence.

LW: Sofiane Boufal – 7/10 – Arguably the most dangerous player on the pitch when he was on, so nearly scoring with a great effort and constantly getting the better of Meunier.

SUB: Yahia Attiyat Allah (67′ for Hakimi) – N/A

SUB: Abdelhamid Sabiri (67′ for Amallah) – 7/10 – Only had eight touches but two were key passes and one was a goal. Pretty good going.

SUB: Abderrazak Hamdallah (72′ for En-Nesryi) – N/A

SUB: Zakaria Aboukhlal (72′ for Boufal) – 7/10 – Took his goal excellently.

SUB: Jawad El Yamiq (78′ for Ounahi) – N/A

Manager: Walid Regragui – 8/10 – As he did against Croatia, set his team up to not only keep Belgium at bay but attack them too, and got his reward.

Player of the Match – Hakim Ziyech