Rahimi rescues Morocco against Haiti with match-winning substitute cameo

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GOAL

·25 June 2026

Rahimi rescues Morocco against Haiti with match-winning substitute cameo

Morocco recovered from trailing twice to beat Haiti 4-2 in Atlanta and secure second place in Group C. An own goal at 10 minutes and Wilson Isidor's spectacular strike at 43 minutes gave Haiti successive leads, but Achraf Hakimi's 39th-minute equalizer and Ismael Saibari's stoppage-time finish levelled matters by half-time.

Substitutes Soufiane Rahimi and Gessime Yassine then struck at 78 and 89 minutes to complete a dramatic turnaround against an already-eliminated Haiti side competing in Johny Placide's farewell match. GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Morocco v Haiti.

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Winners

Soufiane Rahimi (Morocco)

Rahimi delivered a match-winning cameo that earned him the official man of the match award. Introduced at 70 minutes with the score level at 2-2, he needed just eight minutes to score the goal that gave Morocco the lead for the first time in the contest.

His 78th-minute finish inside the area following a scramble broke Haiti's resistance after they had twice taken the lead. Rahimi then kept the ball alive near the byline through sheer persistence before unselfishly teeing up Gessime Yassine for Morocco's fourth goal at 89 minutes.

A goal and an assist in just over 20 minutes transformed a match that Morocco had struggled to control. His decisive contributions ensured the comeback was completed and Morocco progressed from Group C with their knockout-stage place secured.

Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)

Morocco's captain produced an elite two-way performance that kept his side alive when they twice trailed. His 39th-minute equalizer was a composed left-footed finish after Johny Placide had parried an earlier effort, marking his first World Cup goal.

Hakimi then delivered the assist for Saibari's crucial 45+1' leveller with a precise cutback from the byline. Earlier, his cross-cum-shot at 13 minutes forced Placide into a save, and he went one-on-one at 30 minutes only to be denied by the Haitian goalkeeper.

His relentless attacking from right-back stretched Haiti throughout and provided the platform for Morocco's first-half recovery. Without Hakimi's goal and assist, Morocco would have entered half-time behind rather than level at 2-2.

Loser

Brahim Díaz (Morocco)

Díaz was Morocco's poorest performer in a match where finishing proved problematic before the substitutions arrived. His 48th-minute shot flew over the crossbar from a promising position, squandering a clear opportunity to give his side the lead.

Multiple poor passes disrupted Morocco's attacking flow and contributed to Haiti's dangerous counter-attacking moments. His struggles in the final third meant Morocco lacked the creative spark expected from his position despite their dominant possession throughout his time on the pitch.

Díaz was withdrawn at 70 minutes as part of Morocco's triple attacking substitution. The changes that followed his departure proved decisive, with Rahimi and Yassine combining to score the two goals that sealed victory and highlighted what Morocco had been missing.