The Tartan Army's party in Boston was brought to an abrupt end after Morocco eased past Scotland to leave their hopes of reaching the knockout stages hanging in the balance.
Ismael Saibari scored in his second successive game with a stunning finish from a tight angle in the box to give Morocco the lead after just 70 seconds.
The early goal took the life out of the tens and thousands of Scotland fans in Foxborough Stadium, and Steve Clarke's men struggled to recover from the setback. They had less than 40% of possession in the first half and managed a xG of just 0.2
Saibari nearly scored his second of the game soon after the restart after a shot from inside the box smacked the bar. But, Scotland were unable to take advantage of the repreive.
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Steve Clarke threw on attackers from the bench and the Scottish fans raised their decibel levels, but it was to no avail. Scott McTominay had an appeal for a late penalty after going down in the box but it was turned down without even a VAR check.
The result was a rude come-down for Scotland and their fans after a week of glorious celebration. It means they will head into their final group game against Brazil with their hopes of reaching the knockout stages for the first time in their history on a knife edge.
Scotland's lack of Plan B
Steve Clarke made three changes to the team that beat Haiti, with Kieran Tierney and Ryan Christie coming in for Aaron Hickey and Lawrence Shankland. But perhaps, the change that will draw the most scrutiny was the dropping of Ben Gannon-Doak in favour of Nathan Patterson.
Gannon-Doak was arguably Scotland's best player against Haiti and was a lively presence on the wings. The decision to drop him in favour of another defender signaled Scotland's defensive approach to the game and saw them move away from the fluid 4-4-2 they previously played with to a five at the back.
Saibari's goal meant Clarke's plan went up in smoke before you could say haggis. They suddenly found themselves chasing the game, but without the tools to really do so. McTominay was anonymous and John McGinn struggled to impose himself.
There were periods in the first half where Scotland looked alarmingly out of their depth at this level and were chasing shadows. Gannon Doak was thrown into the fray at the hour mark but he too, struggled to raise Scotland's attacking impetus. They had just six shots in the whole game with none on target.
The second half hydration break provided a snapshot of the game as McTominay furiously vented at his teammates and had to be calmed down by Clarke. There was just one goal in the game but it was a 1-0 thrashing.
Should Scotland have had a penalty?
There was some refereeing drama in the closing stages after McTominay felt he had been felled by Neil El Aynaoui in the box. The Napoli midfielder received the ball and was getting into position to take a shot before El Aynaoui came across him to get the ball away. Referee Ilgiz Tantashev was quick to shut down Scotland's appeals and didn't refer the matter to VAR.
In the ITV studio post-match, Roy Keane and Ange Postecoglou felt it was the right decision. However, Duncan Ferguson felt a penalty should have been given. His view was shared by ITV's in-house referee expert Christina Unkel
"I think it is a penalty kick," she said.
"The referee is known for tolerating a higher level of physical contact but you don't need a lot to give a penalty.
"It's a simple foul, there's contact at the knee position and there's another angle that suggests there might be a step on the left boot."
Key statistics:
- Morocco completed 601 passes vs Scotland, the most by an African team in a FIFA World Cup match since 1966.
- Scotland failed record a shot on target in a FIFA World Cup game for the second time and first since 1986 vs, Denmark.
- After conceding to Morocco, Scotland has only had consecutive shutouts once in World Cup history: 1974 vs Brazil and Zaire (now Congo DR)
- At 1 minute, 10 seconds, Morocco's goal is the fastest goal in FIFA World Cups since Alphonso Davies (CAN) scored at 1:08 vs Croatia in 2022
Lineups
Scotland: Gunn, Hendry, Hanley, Tierney (Gannon-Doak 60'), Patterson (Ralston 88'), Robertson, Ferguson, McTominay, Christie (McLean 71'), McGinn (Stewart 88'), Adams (Dykes 70').
Morocco: Bounou, Hakimi, Diop, Riad, Mazraoui, El Aynaoui, Bouaddi, Díaz (Amaimouni 83'), Ounahi (El Mourabet 89'), El Khannouss (Talbi 83'), Saibari (Rahimi 83').