A penalty slotted low to the goalkeeper’s left. A shirt ripped off and thrown up in celebration. A host of team-mates in white joyfully rushing towards the corner flag. A place in the round of 16 grasped with the last ounces of energy.In the centre circle, players in orange lying on the floor, wondering when — or perhaps even if — their next opportunity will come. Another major tournament lost to fine margins and (at least) another four-year wait to make amends.This was Morocco’s round-of-32 penalty shootout win against the Netherlands in Monterrey, Mexico. And these are the emotional extremes only the World Cup can produce.Germany out of the World Cup | World Cup BriefingMegan Feringa and Amitai WinehouseWhen Ismael Saibari scored his spot kick to send Morocco’s fans into delirium, it was the culmination of more than 120 minutes of play, plus penalties in which their passionate fanbase turned the Estadio BBVA into scenes surely reminiscent of Rabat.Every touch of the ball by a Netherlands player was greeted with a cascade of whistles. Ronald Koeman’s side largely weathered that storm to take the lead and it seemed as if that might be enough to take them through to the last 16 — before a late equaliser that changed everything.It was a knockout tie that had it all. There was sheer brutality for much of it, with players from both sides exchanging meaty challenges; somehow, the first yellow card was only shown by referee Wilton Sampaio in the 47th minute. One of the defining images of the night was Jan Paul van Hecke briefly coming off bloodied and dazed after an inadvertent boot to the face from a Morocco player. It summed up how the Dutch felt at the end of this contest.Van Hecke receives treatment (Carl De Souza / AFP via Getty Images)There was the rawness of Cody Gakpo scoring the opening goal after a week in which he and his partner announced the death of their baby son during pregnancy. Gakpo stayed on the ground at first, cradling his head as the entire squad mobbed him, before covering his face with his shirt and finally letting it all out.In the stands, the emotion was etched across his parents’ faces.Gakpo hold his head in his hands after scoring (Carl De Souza / AFP via Getty Images)There was the 91st-minute equalising header from Issa Diop — his first goal for his country in seven appearances after switching allegiances from France in March — leading to drinks raining down from the stands. “I don’t know what I was doing there,” the Fulham centre-back said afterwards.Issa Diop celebrates the equaliser (David Ramos/Getty Images)As if the tension could not grip the stadium even more, there was a chaotic penalty shoot-out — with three spot kicks hitting the woodwork, one rolling in off Netherlands goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, a huge left hand from Morocco’s Yassine Bounou and Saibari punishing the country where he plies his trade with Eindhoven.At the end of it all, both coaches were left to pick over a game which would not have looked out of place in the quarter-finals or semi-finals. Such is the nature of a 48-team tournament with an extra knockout round; one of these high-quality sides was always going to be disappointed. Even Morocco’s players acknowledged that in the aftermath of victory.