Morocco produced a commanding second-half performance to defeat Canada 3-0 and book their place in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026, extending their remarkable run on football’s biggest stage.
The Atlas Lions, who became Africa’s first-ever World Cup semi-finalists at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, are now just three victories away from another historic achievement after eliminating the tournament co-hosts in Houston.
They will face the winners of the France-Paraguay Round of 16 clash in the quarter-finals in Boston on July 9.
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Canada began brightly and looked the more dangerous side during the opening stages, pressing aggressively and creating the first clear opportunity of the match.
Ali Ahmed capitalised on a defensive lapse before setting up Tani Oluwaseyi, who brilliantly turned away from his marker to race through on goal. However, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who was born in Canada, produced an outstanding left-foot save to keep the scores level.
Morocco suffered an early setback in the 22nd minute when tournament top scorer Ismael Saibari was forced off with an apparent muscle injury. Soufiane Rahimi replaced him as head coach Mohamed Ouahbi reshuffled his side.
Despite struggling to find their rhythm in the opening half, Morocco emerged after the break with renewed purpose and quickly took control.
A brilliantly executed set-piece gave the Atlas Lions the breakthrough. Achraf Hakimi rolled a clever pass across the edge of the penalty area where Azzedine Ounahi arrived to unleash a superb first-time strike beyond Maxime Crepeau and into the bottom corner.
The goal transformed Morocco’s performance as they dominated possession and dictated the tempo, while Canada’s intensity gradually faded.
Although Tajon Buchanan tested Bounou with a powerful low effort, Morocco remained in complete control and doubled their advantage through Ounahi.
Following a swift counter-attack, Brahim Diaz calmly laid the ball into Ounahi’s path, allowing the midfielder to fire emphatically into the roof of the net for his second goal of the evening and his first-ever FIFA World Cup brace.
The two-goal display also made Ounahi the first African player to score twice in a World Cup knockout match since Senegal’s Henri Camara did so against Sweden in 2002.
Rahimi nearly added a third when his header struck the crossbar, but the substitute eventually got his reward deep into stoppage time. Latching onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Diaz, Rahimi calmly slotted past Crepeau to complete an emphatic 3-0 victory.
The result sends Morocco into consecutive FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, reinforcing the Atlas Lions’ status as Africa’s leading contenders on the global stage.