Morocco upset South Korea in first Women’s World Cup win

<p>Morocco won a Women’s World Cup match for the first time after Ibtissam Jraidi struck early to give them a stunning 1-0 victory over South Korea on Sunday.</p>, <p>Having been thrashed 6-0 by Germany on their World Cup debut, this hard-earned win kept alive Morocco’s unlikely chances of reaching the last 16 in Australia and New Zealand.</p>, <p>As well as the first Morocco victory ever at the tournament, there was another piece of history when defender Nouhaila Benzina became the first player to wear a hijab at the Women’s World Cup.</p>, <p>“We are just so glad that our efforts paid off,” said the goal-scorer Jraidi.</p>, <p>“I would like to dedicate this victory to Morocco and all the Arab nations at large. It was the fruit of our hard work.”</p>, <p>French coach Reynald Pedros saw his Morocco team take the lead after only six minutes in front of just over 13,000 fans in Adelaide.</p>, <p>Hanane Ait El Haj crossed and forward Jraidi nipped in ahead of her marker to expertly glance her header into the far corner.</p>, <p>Morocco, one of the lowest-ranked teams at the tournament at 72 in the world, were supposed underdogs against the 17th-ranked Koreans.</p>, <p>But they made by far the better start against shell-shocked opponents.</p>, <p>Colin Bell’s Korean side belatedly grew into the game towards the end of the first half, but like in their 2-0 opening defeat to Colombia, they lacked punch up front.</p>, <p>Many of the crowd were shouting for the Koreans and their team piled on the pressure in the second half as they attempted to keep their World Cup hopes alive.</p>, <p>Morocco were grimly hanging on.</p>, <p>The Koreans had three players on two as they raced towards Morocco’s goal, only for Benzina to cynically clip an advancing Korean attacker and earn a yellow card.</p>, <p>Bell threw on attacker Casey Phair, the United States-born 16-year-old who is the youngest player ever to feature at a Women’s World Cup.</p>, <p>But Morocco held on for a gritty win that left South Korea facing an early exit from G