Morocco secured a place in the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals after defeating the Netherlands 3-2 in a dramatic penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw after extra time.

The Atlas Lions came from behind with a stoppage-time equaliser before goalkeeper Yassine Bounou emerged the hero in the shootout, helping Morocco book a last-eight meeting with co-hosts Canada.

Morocco dominated possession throughout the contest, controlling 70 per cent of the ball, while the Netherlands adopted a defensive approach and relied primarily on counter-attacks.

Despite Morocco’s dominance, the Dutch broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute through Cody Gakpo.

The forward finished calmly after being set up by Crysencio Summerville, who drove through midfield before threading a precise pass into the penalty area for Gakpo to slot beneath the advancing goalkeeper.

Morocco continued to press for an equaliser and were rewarded deep into stoppage time when defender Issa Diop rose to meet a cross from Chemsdine Talbi, sending a glancing header beyond Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to make it 1-1.

Neither side was able to find a winner during the 30 minutes of extra time, although Verbruggen produced a superb point-blank save to deny Soufiane Rahimi and keep the Netherlands in the contest.

The match was eventually decided by penalties, where Morocco held their nerve to prevail 3-2.

The Netherlands converted only two of their spot-kicks, with Justin Kluivert, Quinten Timber and Summerville all failing to beat Bounou.

For Morocco, Rahimi and Talbi successfully converted their penalties before Ismael Saibari calmly scored the decisive kick to send the North Africans through.

The victory extends Morocco’s impressive World Cup campaign and sets up a quarter-final clash against tournament co-hosts Canada in Houston on Saturday.