Morocco were humbled in their first match ever match at the Women’s World Cup, going down 6-0 to one of the tournament favourites Germany.
Morocco had never previously qualified for a women’s World Cup and became the first Arab women’s team to compete at a global finals, but they were given a harsh lesson in the realities of tournament football.
They trailed 2-0 at the break thanks to a Alexandra Popp brace and conceded a third a minute after the restart to Klara Buhl.
The North Africans then contributed to their own downfall with own goals from Hanane Ait El Haj and Yasmin Mrabet before substitute Lea Schuller rounded off the scoring in added time.
On paper it was the biggest mismatch of the group stage, with 70 places separating them in the world rankings, and the gulf was apparent from the off.
The Atlas Lionesses showed glimpses of magic and had a goal disallowed.
However, a fairytale win never looked likely in front of 27,256 fans at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, a near full-house.
Germany, who won the World Cup in 2003 and 2007, went out in the quarter-finals four years ago.
Morocco next face South Korea on Sunday before their final Group H match against Colombia on Thursday, August 3.
