Morocco v Haiti – World Cup result as African side come from behind twice to seal qualification from Group C

Morocco's substitutes bench proved the difference-maker as the disputed Africa Cup of Nations champions twice came from behind to eventually defeat Haiti 4-2 in Atlanta.

The match got off to a flying start after just 10 minutes when Lenny Joseph's impudent back-flick went into the net off Moroccan 'keeper Bounou to give the Haitians a shock lead.

That advantage lasted until six minutes before half-time, when Achraf Hakimi stabbed home from close range to draw level.

That was not the end of the first-half scoring, however, as Hakimi's strike sparked a wild final few minutes with both sides adding another goal each.

Haiti retook the lead through Wilson Isidor's 25-yard piledriver, then Ismael Saibari levelled the scores again in first-half stoppage time as he rounded off a sweeping counter-attack with a superb first-time finish from Hakimi's cross.

The second half could not quite live up to the back-and-forth action of the first, as Morocco managed to take more control of the midfield, while Haiti defended stoutly to keep the scores level.

But the 70th-minute additions of substitutes Sofiane Rahimi and Gessime Yassine proved crucial, as both found the net to seal the victory for Morocco.

First, Rahimi found the top corner with a deflected effort after a smart turn and shot on 78 minutes. Then, with one minute of normal time remaining, he nipped in to steal the ball away from a Haitian defender and squared it for Yassine to complete the simplest of tap-ins.

Morocco's victory sealed second place in Group C as they secured qualification for the round of 32.

Haiti nearly had a third, through substitute striker Nazon's thunderbolt of a free-kick, but Moroccan keeper Bounou does really well to get across with a strong hand to turn it around the post.

There will be FIVE additional minutes at the end of this match.

With Haiti looking to shepherd the ball off for a goal kick, Rahimi sneaks in, and with the ball VERY close to being out of play, steals it and centres for an easy tap-in for Yassine.

After a lengthy VAR review to check whether or not all of the ball had crossed all of the line, the verdict was in Morocco's favour, with the ball still in play. The goal stands, Morocco have their fourth, and they have the three points in the bag as we head into stoppage time.

He hasn't been on for long, but Soufiane Rahimi has already made a massive impact.

The Moroccan sub takes possession with his back to goal, turns smartly and finds the top corner, via a hefty deflection.

The shot was on target before it struck the Haiti defender, so hopefully he'll be credited with the goal, but we'll see.

What is undisputed is the scoreline – it's Morocco 3-2 Haiti, and the AFCON champions have the lead for the first time in this topsy-turvy match.

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The AFCON champions are starting to turn the screw.

It's been all Morocco for the last six or seven minutes as they've launched wave after wave of attack. But the Haitian defence has held firm.

Then, El Khannouss lets fly with a powerful low strike that Placide sees late, but somehow gets down to save.