Morocco overcame Colombia in the last 16 of the Women’s World Cup

Anissa Lahmari’s goal gives the Atlas Lionesses the victory, as Germany is eliminated following a 1-1 tie with South Korea.

Morocco defeated Colombia 1-0 to advance to the final 16 of the Women’s World Cup in their debut appearance.

The Atlas Lionesses gained the lead with Anissa Lahmari in the closing stages of the first half on Thursday and held it till the end of the thrilling contest in Perth, Australia.

Germany, the two-time defending champion, drew 1-1 with South Korea in the other group match and were eliminated.

Morocco and Colombia each ended with six points in Group H, while Germany had four and South Korea had one.

Colombia won the group, beating off runners-up Morocco on goal differential.

Both teams created chances in the first half, but Morocco’s only serious scoring opportunity came in stoppage time, when Colombia’s Daniela Arias carelessly fouled forward Ibtissam Jraidi in the penalty area.

Catalina Perez of Las Cafeteras dived to her left to save Ghizlane Chebbak’s penalty kick, but midfielder Lahmari poked the ball into the net in the ensuing goalmouth melee.

“To be honest, it’s still hard to understand,” said German captain Alexandra Popp, who scored the game’s only goal and was the team’s main danger throughout.

“I’m still trying to figure out what happened here.”

Morocco, who were thrashed 6-0 by Germany in their opener before overcoming South Korea 1-0, will face France in Adelaide on Tuesday, while Colombia will face Jamaica in Melbourne.

Moroccan supporters have had a lot of fun cheering on their national teams during the World Cup.

The Atlas Lionesses had made history simply by qualifying, and then by winning their first game. Most people expected Germany to be eliminated from the tournament after defeating Colombia.