Saibari's 71-second strike gives Morocco the earliest goal of World Cup 2026 against Scotland

Ismael Saibari gave Morocco a stunning early advantage against Scotland in their World Cup 2026 Group C fixture at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, smashing the ball past Angus Gunn after just 71 seconds — the quickest goal of the tournament so far.

The Bayern Munich-bound midfielder capitalised on a disorganised Scotland back line to claim his second goal of the competition, wrecking Steve Clarke’s pre-match plans almost before they had begun. Saibari’s strike at one minute and 11 seconds eclipsed all other early efforts in the group stage, where Joao Neves (Portugal vs Cape Verde), Michael Sadilek (Czechia vs South Korea) and Felix Nmecha (Germany vs Curacao) had each scored in the sixth minute — none had found the net inside five.

Clarke had made two changes to the side that beat Haiti on matchday one, dropping striker Lawrence Shankland to the bench and leaving winger Ben Gannon-Doak in reserve. The tactical shift was designed to keep things tight against Morocco, with the manager opting for a single striker. A draw, in the context of Scotland’s historic struggle to advance from the group stage, would have been a welcome result.

Instead, Scotland found themselves behind almost immediately, forced to reassess in front of a travelling Tartan Army that had made Boston a home away from home across their first two fixtures at Gillette Stadium.

Other players had scored early in the group stage — Yasin Ayari of Sweden, Elijah Just of New Zealand and Julian Quinones of Mexico all netted inside the first 10 minutes of their respective opening matches, as did Paraguay’s Damian Bobadilla, though his effort went into his own net. None, however, matched the speed of Saibari’s finish against Scotland.

Qualification from the group stage for the first time in Scotland’s World Cup history remains possible, but Clarke’s side will need to generate chances far more regularly than they managed against Haiti if they are to reach the round of 32. Conceding the tournament’s earliest goal while producing limited attacking output is a combination that leaves little margin for error.