Morocco makes more World Cup history with win over co-host Canada

HOUSTON — Morocco is heading back to the World Cup quarterfinals and coach Mohamed Ouahbi believes his team has established itself among soccer's elite.

Azzedine Ounahi scored twice to lead Morocco to a 3-0 win over Canada in the round of 16 on Saturday, making the country the first African nation to reach the quarterfinals at multiple World Cups.

"We are no longer a surprise," Ouahbi said.

"Now, when people talk about Morocco, we're a major contender, and it's a great source of pride. I think it's only the beginning, and I hope we continue to have runs like this."

Morocco, seventh in the FIFA rankings entering the tournament, earlier dispatched the Netherlands in a penalty shootout to reach the round-of-16 match with Canada, while consigning the Dutch to their earliest World Cup exit.

And despite already making history in this World Cup, Morocco has much higher goals.

"We want to keep going," Ouahbi said. "We don't want to stop."

It's Morocco's second straight appearance in the final eight after becoming the first African team to reach the semifinals in 2022.

"We are so proud to represent Africa, because it's a continent with a lot of talent and Africa deserves to be at the highest level of football," goalkeeper Yassine Bounou said.

Neither team was able to break through until Ounahi took a freekick from Achraf Hakimi and sent a right-footed shot through traffic from outside the box. It nestled into the bottom right corner to put Morocco ahead in the 50th minute.

Ounahi then made it 2-0 on a right-footed shot from the middle of the box off a pass from Brahim Diaz in the 82nd.

Soufiane Rahimi added some further gloss with a third goal in the final minute of stoppage time.

Morocco will now meet France, which beat Paraguay in the later game, in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Thursday.

The loss ends a historic run for World Cup co-host Canada, which won its first-ever knockout-round game, beating South Africa 1-0 to reach Saturday's match.

The country was playing in the World Cup for just the third time, and the run enchanted a nation that is normally far more interested in hockey.

Canada coach Jesse Marsch shared his post-game message to the team. "I told them that I was proud of them, and I challenged them to understand that we can play like this all the time against the best teams in the world," he said.

"We can be better on the day. And, then, the challenge is, can we hold that standard for 90 minutes?"

Marsch lauded how his team performed against a squad of Morocco's caliber and how Canada controlled the match for much of the day.

"The way we pushed, the way we were in the match, the quality we showed, the overall impact in the match, we were better," he said. "We were better than the seventh-best team in the world today."

Ouahbi had a strong response when told of those comments.

"In terms of intensity, they were good," he said. "They were good for 98 minutes. Were they better? It's hard to say. It takes some nerve to say that when you lose 3-0."

Canada had a couple of chances to score late. Jonathan David had a freekick from outside the box in the 78th minute, but his shot sailed over the crossbar.

Just after that, Tajon Buchanan's shot from about 30 yards was stopped with a diving save from Bounou — one of just three Bounou, who was born in Canada to Moroccan parents, had to make.

The win sparked huge celebrations among Morocco's fans back home. Within minutes, thousands poured into the streets of Casablanca, Morocco's largest city. Horns honked as supporters climbed onto car roofs, waving flags and chanting.

Traffic ground to a halt along the Corniche Boulevard, one of the city's main avenues, where ecstatic Atlas Lions supporters danced, set off fireworks and waved flares. Other major boulevards across Casablanca were also jammed with jubilant fans.

Canada reached the round of 16 despite missing star Alphonso Davies for the majority of the tournament due to a hamstring injury. The Bayern Munich player logged only 15 minutes as a substitute in the victory over South Africa, but wasn't available Saturday.

"His hamstring didn't feel right," Marsch said.

"We were hoping that, by the time he woke up this morning, he would feel better, but he didn't."

This game was a rematch from the last World Cup, when Morocco beat Canada 2-1 in the group stage. Morocco went on to finish fourth overall.

It was an extremely physical match with eight yellow cards being shown. Hakimi and Canada's Richie Laryea both received yellows in the 40th minute after Hakimi shoved Laryea to the ground. Laryea pushed him back and a minor scuffle ensued.

Morocco midfielder Ismael Saibari left with an injury in the 22nd minute.

AP