Morocco pulled off the first major shock of the 2013 FIFA Under-17 World Cup on Friday evening when they defeated Croatia 3-1 in their Group C clash in Fujairah.
Appearing in their first ever U-17 World Cup, Morocco looked like seasoned veterans as a brace from Karim Achabar and a third by Nabil Jaadi gave the north Africans a stunning half-time lead.
Robert Muric pulled one back for Croatia with 30 minutes remaining but it proved a consolation strike as Morocco held on for an historic win.
All the focus was on talented playmaker Alen Halilovic – the youngest player ever capped by the Croatian senior team – and while he showed plenty of his undoubted quality, it was not enough to save his side from a shock defeat.
Achabar grabbed his first after 27 minutes when he slammed a shot into the roof of the net after a back-pass from Omar Arjoune. The Guingamp youngster struck his second 13 minutes later after a clever bit of interplay between Walid Sabbar and Arjoune picked out Achahbar alone in front of goal.
The points were assured on the stoke of half-time when Jaadi raced up the right and hammered his shot into the top corner.
Croatia reduced the deficit to two when Halilovic picked up the ball in midfield and started a play that filtered through Frane Vojkovic and up to Muric, who slipped past his marker and buried his shot.
In the other earlier kick-off, Tunisia defeated Venezuela 2-1in a Group D encounter in Sharjah.
Chiheb Jbeli opened the scoring before Mohamed Ben Larbi made it two from the penalty spot. Jose Marquez got on the scoresheet for the South Americans.
In the later scheduled matches, Uzbekistan comfortably dispatched Panama 2-0 in Fujairah in their Group C clash, while Japan edged Russia 1-0 in Sharjah in Group D.
Second-half goals from Shohjahon Abbasov and Rustamjon Ashurmatov secured the points for Uzbekistan, while Kosei Uryu’s long-range stunner proved enough to ensure victory for Japan.
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