Co-hosts Canada’s FIFA World Cup 2026 adventure came to a end yesterday in Houston as Azzedine Ounahi’s second-half double and a late Soufiane Rahimi goal sent Morocco through to the quarter-finals for a second straight tournament.
The Atlas Lions made history as Africa’s first semi-finalists at Qatar 2022 and after shrugging off a slow start with a strong second-half showing here, they can now look forward to a Boston quarter-final on 9 July against the winners of the France-Paraguay tie.
For Canada, a nation whose footballers had never won a World Cup match before this tournament, there will be great pride in their run to the last 16 alongside the pain of this defeat.
Canada had the better of the first period, starting with impressive energy and intensity, pressing high and forcing several corners. It was no surprise they created the first significant chance when, capitalising on a loose ball out of Morocco’s defence, Ali Ahmed fed Tani Oluwaseyi and he span superbly away from Redouane Halhal to put himself clean through on goal. He shot low but Yassine Bounou, Morocco’s Canada-born goalkeeper, saved with his left foot.
Mohamed Ouahbi’s team could not find their rhythm and their discomfort grew with the departure after 22 minutes of Ismael Saibari, their leading scorer in this tournament, with an apparent muscle injury, Rahimi taking his place.
In Saibari’s absence, midfielder Ounahi stepped up to make the difference, opening the scoring soon after the restart through a well-worked dead-ball routine. From the right, Achraf Hakimi played the ball across the face of the box where, from the D, Ounahi swept a terrific first-time shot past the diving Maxime Crepeau and inside the left post.
Morocco had won all seven matches in which Ounahi had scored previously and history was repeated here as the Atlas Lions raised their game and Canada’s levels dropped in the second period. Although Tajon Buchanan tested Bounou with a low drive, Ounahi made sure of Morocco’s success by burying a shot high into the roof of the net from Brahim Diaz’s lay-off following a counter-attack. His first-ever World Cup goals were the first brace by an African player in the knockout rounds since Senegal’s Henri Camara scored twice against Sweden in 2002.
Rahimi headed against the crossbar but wouldn’t be denied a goal of his own, latching on to a Diaz through ball and finishing smartly to amplify the scoreline in added time.
Morocco have made it to back-to-back World Cup quarter-finals, becoming the first African nation to grace the last eight more than once.
It did not come as a surprise that Ounahi wss voted the Superior Player of the Match.
“I think we did an amazing tournament. Until the half-time of this game we were outstanding. Everybody back home should be very proud. We felt we could have won this game especially in the first half. We were on top of them, we were fighting, we were creating chances, our set-pieces were on point. But from a set-piece we let that slip and then obviously we want to go after it and we got hurt on transitions,” Canada midfielder, Stephen Eustacquio, said.
In his reaction, Morocco Coach, Mohamed Ouahbi said: “We are very happy. It’s a World Cup match and these are difficult games with teams playing for their lives. We reacted very well in the second half in the second balls and the duels. I have to recognise that Canada were impressive – they played a top match. It was no surprise for us but in the second half we were able to profit from the space they left us – that was the key.”
Speaking tobeIN Sports, Morocco’s two-goal hero, Ounahi said, “I’m really happy to have scored today. It wasn’t easy for us. We saw that Canada caused us problems, especially in the first half. This match will help us grow. We’ve seen that no game is easy in this competition, but the most important thing is that we’re through.”
Morocco now awaits the winner of France versus Paraguay for what is expected to be a cracker.