Morocco wrote another chapter in African football history with a dominant victory over host nation Canada. Following their run to the semifinals at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Morocco reached the quarterfinals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, setting a milestone as the first African nation to advance to back-to-back World Cup quarterfinals.
Morocco crushed Canada 3-0 in a round-of-16 match held at Houston Stadium in Texas, powered by a brace from Azzedine Ounahi and a clinching goal from Soufiane Rahimi. Morocco will compete for a semifinal spot against the winner of the round-of-16 match between Paraguay and France. The quarterfinal will be played at Boston Stadium in the United States at 5 a.m. Korea time on Thursday.
With the result, Morocco advanced to the quarterfinals in this tournament following their semifinal run at the 2022 Qatar edition. It marks the first time an African nation has reached the World Cup quarterfinals in two consecutive tournaments. Morocco also increased its cumulative goals in this tournament to eight, setting a new record for the most goals by an African nation in a single World Cup.
Individual records also poured in. Key fullback Achraf Hakimi broke the record for most World Cup appearances by an African player, making his 15th career appearance. Brahim Diaz added two assists on the day, setting a new record for the most assists by an African player in a single World Cup with four. Ounahi, who scored his brace, became the first African player to score two goals in a World Cup knockout match since Senegal's Henri Camara at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, ending a 24-year drought.
Canada dominated the first half. Facing Canada, which seized control with intense pressing, Morocco did not record its first shot until the 28th minute. The physical match saw a combined eight yellow cards between the two teams, and Morocco suffered further setback when Ismael Saibari was substituted in the 22nd minute due to a hamstring injury.
But in the second half, the outcome turned on Morocco's finishing. In the 50th minute, from a free-kick situation, Ounahi opened the scoring with a right-footed shot near the penalty arc after Hakimi's low cutback. In the 82nd minute, Ounahi scored again after receiving a pass from Diaz, and in the eighth minute of stoppage time, Rahimi sealed the 3-0 win with a left-footed shot on the counterattack.
Canada was the first of the three host nations to be eliminated, but the team left meaningful achievements in this tournament, including its first World Cup point, first win, first group-stage advancement and first knockout-round victory.
