Nigeria, June 30 -- The Atlas Lions of Morocco on Tuesday became the first African country to qualify for the Round of 16 of the ongoing FIFA World Cup.

The African side defeated the Netherlands 3-2 on penalties after 120 minutes of football that ended 1-1.

Morocco's goalkeeper was the hero of the night as he saved the last kick of the Dutch team who had missed two earlier penalty kicks. This allowed Morocco's striker Saibari to score the last kick of the game.

The Dutch became the latest European giant to be eliminated after Paraguay defeated Germany, also on penalties.

Details later.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Premium Times....