ATLANTA, June 26 -- Haiti had waited fifty-two years to score a World Cup goal. When it came, in the tenth minute at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, it arrived in the most improbable fashion: a Lenny Joseph backheel that deflected off goalkeeper Yassine Bounou and crept into the corner. The crowd of 68,239 registered a gasp and then something close to appreciation. It was not enough.

Soufiane Rahimi settled the matter in the seventy-eighth minute. Morocco had equalised twice, been pegged back again, and spent the better part of the second half watching Haiti refuse to concede quietly. Then a flicked corner found Rahimi near the penalty spot, and he turned on instinct, catching the ball with his right foot as it sat up and finding the net before t...