Steve Clarke made two changes to his starting line-up for Scotland's second Group C fixture at World Cup 2026.
Striker Lawrence Shankland dropped to the bench as the manager opted to play with one striker against Morocco rather than the two that played in Scotland's win against Haiti.
Winger Ben Gannon-Doak was also kept in reserve with a view to keeping things tight; as infectious as the mood was pre-match thanks to the prospect of Scotland getting out of the group for the first time ever in the Massachusetts sunshine, a draw would be a more than adequate result.
Saibari's scorcher gave Morocco the lead after 71 seconds
It took just 71 seconds for Morocco to pull Clarke’s plans to pieces.
Bayern Munich-bound Ismael Saibari took advantage of a jagged Scotland back line and smashed the ball past Angus Gunn to claim his second wonderful goal of the tournament.
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Saibari's strike after one minute and 11 seconds was the quickest goal of World Cup 2026 so far.
Joao Neves (for Portugal against Cape Verde), Michael Sadilek (for Czechia against South Korea) and Felix Nmecha (for Germany against Curacao) have all scored in the sixth minute in the group stage but Saibari was the first player to score inside five.
Yasin Ayari of Sweden, Elijah Just of New Zealand and Julian Quinones of Mexico all scored in the first 10 minutes of their first matches. Paraguay's Damian Bobadilla did too, but in the wrong net.
Boston has become a home away from home for the travelling Tartan Army. Scotland have played their first two matches at Gillette Stadium down the road in Foxborough and charmed Fenway in between for good measure.
Their team couldn't have made a worse start to their second game but Scotland have dug themselves out of bigger holes and qualification from the group stage for the first time is still possible.
Scotland do need to find a way to generate shots on goal more frequently if they're to reach the round of 32.
After conceding for the first time just over a minute into their game against Morocco, a repeat of the limited output they managed against Haiti on matchday one will not suffice.
Will Scotland get out of Group C despite conceding the earliest goal of the World Cup so far? Have your say in the comments below...
