ATLANTA — For about 70 minutes on Wednesday, Haiti looked nothing like a team that had already been eliminated from the World Cup. They went up twice, hit a screamer from Wilson Isidor, and sent a packed Mercedes-Benz Stadium crowd into disbelief. But Morocco, with their backs against the wall in Group C, finally found the answers off the bench.
It ended 4-2. And the guy who flipped the whole thing was Soufiane Rahimi, a substitute who didn’t even enter until the 70th minute with the score tied 2-2.
Rahimi needed eight minutes to score. Then he set up another in the 89th. Just like that, Haiti’s dream farewell for goalkeeper Johny Placide turned into a cruel lesson in depth and finishing.
Rahimi’s 20-Minute Masterclass
The man of the match award went to Rahimi, and it wasn’t close. He came on with the game still hanging in the balance and immediately looked like the only player on the pitch who could break the deadlock. His 78th-minute goal came from a goalmouth scramble where he just kept his head while everyone else panicked. Then, with Haiti pushing for an equalizer, he chased down a ball near the byline that looked dead, kept it alive, and laid it on a plate for Gessime Yassine to make it 4-2.
That’s a goal and an assist in 20 minutes. In a knockout-or-go-home group stage game, that’s the kind of impact that turns a guy into a folk hero overnight.
Hakimi Carried the First Half
Morocco’s captain, Achraf Hakimi, didn’t wait for the subs to bail him out. He scored the equalizer in the 39th minute with a calm left-footed finish after Placide parried an earlier attempt. That alone would have been enough. But then, right before halftime, Hakimi manufactured another goal out of nothing — a perfect cutback from the end line that Ismael Saibari buried to make it 2-2 at the break.
Hakimi was relentless all night. His cross that nearly snuck in at 13 minutes, his one-on-one chance that Placide denied at 30 minutes — the man was everywhere. Without him, Morocco probably goes into the locker room down 2-1, and maybe the whole comeback never happens.
Díaz Struggled Before Getting Hooked
Brahim Díaz had a rough night. Not terrible, just frustrating. He skied a shot from a good spot in the 48th minute, and his passing in the final third kept breaking down at the worst times. Morocco had all the possession while he was on the field but couldn’t turn it into clean chances.
He got pulled in the 70th minute as part of a triple attacking substitution. The moves that followed — Rahimi, Yassine, fresh legs — basically highlighted everything Díaz wasn’t providing. It’s one game, and Morocco won, but if they run into a team that doesn’t let them come back, that kind of performance will get magnified fast.
Haiti’s Farewell Fell Short
This was supposed to be Placide’s sendoff. The veteran goalkeeper, playing his last match for Haiti, made some nice saves early. But the own goal in the 10th minute — a deflection off a teammate — set a weird tone. Isidor’s strike from distance in the 43rd was a genuine stunner, the kind of goal that makes you think maybe fate is on your side. But Morocco’s quality off the bench was too much. Haiti went home with their heads up, at least.
Morocco now advances to the knockout stage from Group C. They’ll have to clean up the first-half sloppiness. But if Rahimi keeps coming off the bench like this, they’ve got a weapon nobody else in the bracket has seen yet.
Leave a Comment