Scotland were made to rue an early defensive lapse as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Morocco in Foxborough.
Steve Clarke's side got off to the worst possible start as Ismael Saibari breached the backline to latch onto a Brahim Diaz pass and the new Bayern Munich recruit rifled the ball beyond Angus Gunn to give Morocco the lead after just 70 seconds.
Their evening threatened to unravel further as the Morocco's fluid probing carved several more opportunities, but Scotland were able to maintain their one-goal deficit as Bilal El Khannouss and Neil El Aynaoui spurned good chances.
After suffering a Moroccan onslaught for most of the first half, the Tartan Army finished the opening period in the ascendancy and they certainly demonstrated greater composure after the half-time interval.
However, Morocco's threat remained as Saibari saw an effort deflected onto the crossbar following Jack Hendry's block, before El Khannouss tested the reactions of Gunn with a glancing header directed at the near post.
Scotland's defiance put them in a position to launch an assault on the Morocco goal in the latter stages. There were strong calls for a penalty after Scott McTominay was fouled in the box, and despite fashioning chances through McTominay and Ryan Christie, Clarke's men were unable to muster a shot on target as they failed to breach a resolute Morocco rearguard.
The result sees the Atlas Lions leapfrog Scotland in Group C at the 2026 World Cup, with the Tartan Army's progression resting on their concluding group match against Brazil on Wednesday.
Scotland v Morocco Timeline
2' - Goal for Morocco. Scored by Ismael Saibari, assisted by Brahim Diaz.
23' - Yellow card for Issa Diop.
60' - Ben Gannon-Doak replaced Kieran Tierney.
65' - Yellow card for Andy Robertson.
71' - Lyndon Dykes replaced Che Adams, Kenny McLean replaced Ryan Christie.
84' - Soufiane Rahimi replaced Ismael Saibari, Chemsdine Talbi replaced Bilal El Khannouss, Ayoube Amaimouni replaced Brahim Diaz.
89' - Ross Stewart replaced John McGinn, Anthony Ralston replaced Nathan Patterson.
90' - Samir El Mourabet replaced Azzedine Ounahi.
Scotland v Morocco Match Stats
Scotland | 0-1 | Morocco |
41% | Possession | 59% |
0.54 | Expected Goals | 0.97 |
6 | Shots | 12 |
0 | Shots on Target | 2 |
1 | Big Chances | 3 |
11 | Fouls Committed | 8 |
2 | Corners | 5 |
455 | Total Passes | 671 |
85% | Pass Accuracy | 90% |
20 | Tackles | 9 |
60% | Tackles Won | 56% |
18 | Clearances | 14 |
1 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
0 | Red Cards | 0 |
