Morocco had just held off Colombia in the final round of Group H matches Thursday, and suddenly there was hope for a team making its World Cup debut. But the Atlas Lionesses still needed help from clear across the Australian continent in Brisbane, where at the same time, powerhouse Germany was desperately trying to break a 1-1 deadlock with South Korea during a seemingly endless period of injury time.
As the Moroccans watched on a cellphone, the two-time champion Germans — who had throttled Atlas Lionesses, 6-0, in the group-stage opener — couldn’t get it done. They settled for a 1-1 draw with South Korea and failed to advance to the World Cup knockout round for the first time.