Fascinating aerial view of Morocco's defensive tactics vs Spain could be key to winning World Cup

An aerial view of the tactics Morocco used to shackle Spain in their historic World Cup round of 16 victory has emerged online.

Walid Regragui's side made history on Tuesday after knocking the 2010 world champions out of the competition on penalties.

It's the first time Morocco have won a knockout game at a World Cup since 1986. They'll face Portugal on Saturday afternoon for a place in the semi-finals.

Morocco are only three games from World Cup glory in theory, and they have the best defence still left in the competition.

The only goal they've conceded came against Canada in a game they won, which was an own goal from Nayef Aguerd.

Clean sheets against Croatia, Belgium and Spain mean Portugal will have a job of breaching their backline at the Al Thumama Stadium.

Spain provided their toughest test so far. Under former coach Luis Enrique, their passing was fluid and their ability to stretch teams was unmatched.

Costa Rica were ruthlessly dismantled 7-0 in the opening group game when Spain's capabilities were relatively unknown.

Regragui decided to have his team defend in a block, moving from side to side as Spain recycled possession.

It left Sergio Busquets isolated in midfield, unable to pass the ball to Pedri or Gavi. Check out the full video below.

Spain had a whopping 77 per cent possession with over 1000 passes made. They were limited to just one shot on target, however.

Fans online are very impressed with the new footage and they think Morocco's tactics could see them pull off one of the biggest shocks in football history.

One person said: "This is the type of content we need more of. I love this stuff."

Another commented: "This would bring tears to Jose Mourinho's eyes. Love this setup."

Someone put: "A very impressive structure from Morocco."

While a fourth tweeted: "How on earth do you win against this wall?"

Reddit)

Prior to the tournament, Regragui discussed the importance of a team collective. He said: "The national team should play as a group, and not like players with individual performance only.

"I had a long experience with the Moroccan national team as a player, and then as an assistant coach, and now my task is to provide the addition through that experience that I gained. We have good players."

Do you think Morocco will defeat Portugal? Let us know in the comments.

Topics: Spain, Football World Cup

Daniel Marland

Daniel is a social editor for SPORTbible after moving from the writing team. Nearly scored past Stormzy at Old Trafford once.

@DanMarland_