The Moroccan national team deservedly booked its place in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup, after achieving a broad victory over its Canadian counterpart (one of the hosts of the tournament) by 3-0, in the match that brought them together on Saturday evening on the field of the American city of Houston.
Although the Canadian national team imposed control over the course of the first half, coach Jesse Marsh’s squad was unable to translate this control into real chances, so the first half ended in a goalless draw. The Canadians paid dearly for wasting their advantage in the second half, when the “Atlas Lions” rose up with decisive strikes led by Azzedine Ounahi, who scored a double that shook Canada’s net, before Morocco absorbed the opponent’s pressure and Sofiane Rahimi fired the coup de grâce with the third goal following a typical rebound.
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With this result, the curtain falls on the historic and best process in the history of Canadian football at the World Cup, while the Moroccan team continues to build intelligently on its miraculous achievement in Qatar 2022 (Golden Square), awaiting in the next round the winner of the match against France and Paraguay.
Onahi compensates for the shock of Saibari’s injury
The Moroccan fans lived through difficult moments only 22 minutes after the starting whistle, after star Ismail Saibari left injured. Saibari (25 years old) – who recently moved to German club Bayern Munich after an exceptional season in which he scored 19 goals with PSV Eindhoven – is one of the most prominent pillars of the Atlas Lions in this World Cup, with 3 goals in the first 4 matches, including his goal against Brazil in the opening match (1-1).
But the depth and abundance of skills in coach Mohamed Wehbe’s squad dispelled these fears. The Moroccan system has proven its superior collectivism, and when one star disappears, another shines. This time, it was Girona’s Spanish star, Azzedine Onahi, who turned the tables with two magical shots in the second half.
The first goal came from a precise, sweeping shot from the edge of the penalty area, in which he took advantage of a smart pass from Achraf Hakimi via an indirect free kick. As for the second goal, it was a loud missile that settled in the upper corner of the goal, ending a quick counterattack led brilliantly by Brahim Diaz inside the penalty area.
The stardom of Ounahi (26 years old) was not limited only to scoring, but he was the engine of the Moroccan attack. He completed two successful dribbles, created two scoring chances, and made 33 successful passes, including 7 that penetrated the final offensive third, becoming the flame that the Canadian defense was unable to extinguish.
Canada bids farewell with its head held high and proves its right to fight the big boys
Despite the bitterness of the loss, the Canadian team viewed this confrontation as a historic opportunity to reach the quarter-finals, especially since the complex group calculations qualified them to face Brazil instead of Morocco in this round.
The grief of Jesse Marsh’s teammates is doubled given the language of numbers in the first half, as they excelled in creating chances with 4 shots compared to one shot for Morocco, and they touched the ball inside the Lions’ penalty area 13 times compared to one Moroccan touch. However, the second half witnessed the control of the match slipping out of their hands due to individual differences and the high quality of the opponent.
However, this exit carries with it great pride for a country that has never won any match in the history of the World Cup before the current edition, but in this edition it completed the group stage as runner-up in its group and eliminated South Africa in the round of 32, breaking all records.
What increases the value of the Canadian achievement is the achievement of this breakthrough in the absence of the first star, Alphonso Davies, who only participated for 15 minutes in the tournament due to injury, and was not even ready to participate as a substitute late in the match to save what could be saved.
On the other hand, Canada presented the world with promising young talents such as Nathan Saliba and Luc de Fougerolles, in addition to the brilliance of experienced names such as Tajon Buchanan and Jonathan David, so that Canada proved to everyone that it was no longer just a guest of honor, but had become a difficult number on the global map.
