[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header-nav":3,"footer-nav":29,"article-morocco-late-show-denies-haiti-historic-world-cup-point":82,"category-counts-nav":98,"related-morocco-late-show-denies-haiti-historic-world-cup-point":108},[4,8,11,14,17,20,23,26],{"label":5,"to":6,"exact":7},"Home","\u002F",true,{"label":9,"to":10},"World Cup","\u002Fworldcup",{"label":12,"to":13},"Standings","\u002Fstandings",{"label":15,"to":16},"Football","\u002Fcategory\u002Ffootball",{"label":18,"to":19},"Basketball","\u002Fcategory\u002Fbasketball",{"label":21,"to":22},"Tennis","\u002Fcategory\u002Ftennis",{"label":24,"to":25},"F1","\u002Fcategory\u002Ff1",{"label":27,"to":28},"Long Reads","\u002Fcategory\u002Flong-reads",{"brand":30,"columns":32,"tagline":80,"copyright":81},{"description":31},"In-depth sports journalism covering football, basketball, tennis, F1, and beyond. Daily analysis, long reads, and expert opinion.",[33,51,59],{"heading":34,"links":35},"Leagues",[36,39,42,45,48],{"label":37,"to":38},"Premier League","\u002Ftag\u002Fpremier-league",{"label":40,"to":41},"La Liga","\u002Ftag\u002Fla-liga",{"label":43,"to":44},"NBA","\u002Ftag\u002Fnba",{"label":46,"to":47},"Formula 1","\u002Ftag\u002Fformula-1",{"label":49,"to":50},"Champions League","\u002Ftag\u002Fchampions-league",{"heading":52,"links":53},"Content",[54,56,57],{"label":55,"to":16},"Analysis",{"label":27,"to":28},{"label":58,"to":16},"Data & Stats",{"heading":60,"links":61},"Company",[62,65,68,71,74,77],{"label":63,"to":64},"Terms of Service","\u002Fservice",{"label":66,"to":67},"Privacy Policy","\u002Fprivacy",{"label":69,"to":70},"Editorial Policy","\u002Feditorial",{"label":72,"to":73},"Contact Us","\u002Fcontact",{"label":75,"to":76},"About Us","\u002Fabout",{"label":78,"to":79},"Website Disclaimer","\u002Fdisclaimer","Built for the love of sport","© SportPulse. All rights reserved.",{"title":83,"slug":84,"category":85,"badge":86,"author":87,"excerpt":88,"date":89,"readTime":90,"image":91,"imageAlt":83,"tags":92,"body":96,"_path":97},"Morocco Break Haiti Hearts With Late Brace in Atlanta","morocco-late-show-denies-haiti-historic-world-cup-point","football","Match Report","Marcus Wright","Rahimi and Yassine strike in the dying minutes to spare Morocco's blushes against a fearless Haiti side making World Cup history.","2026-06-26 02:47:55","5 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002Fce4a\u002Flive\u002Fb6b4b6f0-702a-11f1-8546-8f19e4fe30f4.jpg",[93,94,95],"FIFA World Cup","CONCACAF","CAF","## Morocco's Class Tells in the End\n\n**Soufiane Rahimi** and **Gessime Yassine** delivered gut-punch goals in the final minutes as Morocco escaped Atlanta with a **2-0** victory over Haiti, a result that on paper looks comfortable but on the pitch felt anything but.\n\nFor **80-plus minutes**, Haiti held Morocco scoreless. They tackled, they pressed, they competed. The Caribbean nation, appearing at a World Cup for the first time in their history, were minutes away from claiming what would have been a seismic point on the global stage.\n\nThen Rahimi found the net. Then Yassine followed. And just like that, a fairy tale dissolved.\n\n## The Match That Almost Was\n\nMercedes-Benz Stadium was rocking, and not just for Morocco. A sizable Haitian contingent made themselves heard from the opening whistle, fueling a team that had every reason to believe this night belonged to them.\n\nHaiti's defensive organization was the story for most of the match. They sat in a disciplined mid-block, cut passing lanes, and made Morocco's technically gifted midfielders look pedestrian. **Achraf Hakimi** and company recycled possession endlessly but created precious little of substance.\n\nMorocco, riding the wave of their **historic 2022 World Cup semi-final run** in Qatar, arrived in Atlanta as heavy favorites. Anything less than three points would have been considered a crisis. And for long stretches, that crisis felt very real.\n\n> \"We knew it would be tough. Every World Cup match is tough. But we kept believing and the goals came.\" — Soufiane Rahimi, post-match\n\n## The Locker Room Tells Two Stories\n\nInside Morocco's dressing room after the final whistle, relief outweighed celebration. Players embraced but the body language screamed exhaustion, not euphoria. Head coach **Walid Regragui** gathered his squad for a brief address, the kind coaches deliver when they know the performance fell short of the standard. There were nods, a few claps, but the mood carried an edge. They got away with one.\n\nDown the corridor, Haiti's dressing room was a different universe. Players sat with heads bowed, towels draped over faces. Several stared at the floor, replaying the goals they'd conceded. Head coach **Sébastien Migné** moved quietly among his group, offering handshakes and quiet words. No tactical debrief. No film talk. Just presence. A coach who understood that sometimes the moment matters more than the method.\n\nThe emotional contrast was stark. Morocco had survived. Haiti had nearly thrived.\n\n## Rahimi: The Man for the Big Moment\n\nSoufiane Rahimi is no stranger to decisive moments. The **Al Ain forward** was instrumental in Morocco's run through the 2022 tournament and has carried that form into the 2026 cycle. His goal in Atlanta was classic Rahimi: movement, instinct, and a ruthless finish when the opposition's legs had gone.\n\nHaiti's defenders had handled Morocco's attacking threats admirably for the majority of the contest. But defending at World Cup intensity for 90 minutes against players of this caliber is an almost impossible ask. Fatigue crept in, concentration wavered, and Rahimi punished them.\n\nYassine's insurance goal moments later sealed it. Two goals in quick succession transformed a potential disaster into three points on the board.\n\n## What Haiti Proved Despite the Scoreline\n\nStrip away the final scoreline and examine what actually happened in Atlanta. Haiti, a nation ranked significantly below Morocco in FIFA's standings, went toe-to-toe with a semi-finalist from the last World Cup for the vast majority of the match.\n\nThis is a team that fought through CONCACAF qualifying against established regional powers to earn their place at this tournament. They arrived with no World Cup pedigree, no history of competing at this level, and they played without fear.\n\n- Haiti held Morocco scoreless for over **80 minutes**\n- Their defensive structure limited clear-cut chances throughout the match\n- The Caribbean side competed physically and tactically across all phases of play\n\nThe late collapse will sting. The goals conceded will haunt them in film sessions. But the broader performance? Haiti announced themselves on the world stage, even in defeat.\n\n## Morocco's Group Stage Implications\n\nThree points are three points. Morocco will take them, move on, and know that sterner tests lie ahead in this tournament. The performance raised questions about their ability to break down organized, deep-sitting defenses, a concern that Regragui will need to address before the knockout rounds.\n\nTheir **2022 squad** was built on defensive solidity and devastating counterattacks. This 2026 version, with several new faces integrated into the squad, looked less cohesive in the final third. The creative spark that carried them past Belgium, Spain, and Portugal four years ago was largely absent against Haiti.\n\nThat is not necessarily cause for panic. World Cup group stages are about accumulating points, not producing highlight reels. But the warning signs are there, and better opponents will exploit the same vulnerabilities Haiti nearly punished.\n\n## What It Means\n\nMorocco leave Atlanta with the result they needed but not the performance they wanted. **Regragui** now has a clear blueprint for what needs fixing: final-third creativity, patience in possession against deep blocks, and the killer instinct to put games away earlier.\n\nHaiti walk away empty-handed on the scoresheet but richer in experience and belief. Their World Cup debut delivered a performance that deserved more. Migné's side proved they belong at this level, and that alone is a victory for Haitian football.\n\nThe late goals will dominate the headlines. They always do. But the real story of this match was written in the **80 minutes before them**, when a tiny Caribbean nation with no World Cup pedigree stood tall against one of Africa's elite and nearly rewrote the script entirely.\n\nMorocco progress. Haiti endure. Both teams leave Atlanta knowing exactly what this tournament demands.","\u002Farticles\u002Fmorocco-late-show-denies-haiti-historic-world-cup-point",[99,100,101,102,85,103,104,105,106,107],"analysis","basketball","cricket","f1","general","golf","mma","long-reads","tennis",[109,122,130],{"id":110,"stem":110,"path":111,"title":112,"category":85,"badge":113,"badgeType":114,"author":87,"authorRole":115,"authorInitials":116,"date":117,"readTime":118,"image":119,"imageAlt":112,"tags":120,"excerpt":121},"bologna-raskin-rangers-transfer-surge","\u002Farticles\u002Fbologna-raskin-rangers-transfer-surge","Bologna Zero In on Raskin as Rangers Brace for Summer Exodus","Transfers","tag","SportPulse Contributor","MW","2026-06-25 07:20:11","6 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F9d3f\u002Flive\u002F2f247e30-7063-11f1-8546-8f19e4fe30f4.png","Scottish Premiership, Serie A, Premier League","Bologna have opened talks for Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin, triggering a high-stakes summer standoff at Ibrox.",{"id":123,"stem":123,"path":124,"title":125,"category":85,"badge":113,"badgeType":114,"author":87,"authorRole":115,"authorInitials":116,"date":126,"readTime":118,"image":127,"imageAlt":125,"tags":128,"excerpt":129},"london-city-lionesses-stun-world-towns-sign-alexia-putellas","\u002Farticles\u002Flondon-city-lionesses-stun-world-towns-sign-alexia-putellas","London City Lionesses Pull Off Transfer Earthquake Signing Alexia Putellas","2026-07-08 14:48:01","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Flondon-city-lionesses-stun-world-towns-sign-alexia-putellas.webp","WSL, Champions League, Ballon d'Or","Two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas joins London City Lionesses on a three-year deal in a historic women's football bombshell.",{"id":131,"stem":131,"path":132,"title":133,"category":85,"badge":134,"badgeType":135,"author":136,"authorRole":137,"authorInitials":138,"date":139,"readTime":90,"image":140,"imageAlt":133,"tags":141,"excerpt":142},"52-clubs-revolt-wsl-academy-third-tier-takeover","\u002Farticles\u002F52-clubs-revolt-wsl-academy-third-tier-takeover","52 Clubs Revolt: 'We Feel Betrayed' Over WSL Third Tier Takeover","Feature","category","Sarah Martinez","Transfer Correspondent","SM","2026-06-30 05:47:54","https:\u002F\u002Fi.guim.co.uk\u002Fimg\u002Fmedia\u002F1107e387be5fbad1cc66974b37ef7837b1361dd2\u002F110_482_3095_2476\u002Fmaster\u002F3095.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=75e9e3339ca992cbf0048254022d98cd","WSL, FAWNL, Women's Football","A supermajority of National League clubs demand an emergency vote to block WSL academy sides from joining the third tier."]