With a whole team kneeling to the ground to thank Allah the Almighty, Moroccan players celebrated what had seemed almost impossible.

They knocked out Spain, one of the pre-tournaments favourites, to reach the next round as the only Muslim country in the big eight.

Following a goalless 120 minutes, the two teams had to settle for a penalty shootout on Tuesday.

As Spain squandered all four of their attempts, Achraf Hakimi scored the decisive spot-kick, giving the Atlas Lions a 3-0 win.

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Morocco advanced to a quarter-final clash to face either Portugal or Switzerland, meeting later on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the Atlas Lions clinched a spot in the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time since 1986.

Morocco is one of six Muslim countries that qualified for the competition, holding high hopes of reaching as far as possible in the international tournament.