Morocco secured an impressive 3-0 victory over Canada in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 on Saturday in Houston, booking their place in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive tournament. Midfielder Azzedine Ounahi starred with two second-half goals as the African side maintained its remarkable unbeaten run.
Despite dominating possession and creating the better chances early in the match, Canada failed to convert their opportunities. The North American side started confidently and put Morocco under sustained pressure during the opening stages, forcing goalkeeper Yassine Bounou into several important saves.
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Canada came close to opening the scoring within the first few minutes when Jonathan David tested Bounou from close range. The Moroccan goalkeeper also dealt with a dangerous corner before producing another outstanding save to deny Tani Oluwaseyi after a powerful strike from inside the penalty area.
Although Canada controlled much of the first half, Morocco struck first shortly after the break. In the 50th minute, Achraf Hakimi cleverly played a free-kick to Azzedine Ounahi, who fired a first-time effort into the corner of the net to give his side a crucial lead.
Canada continued searching for an equalizer and nearly found one when Jonathan David sent a free-kick over the crossbar before Tajon Buchanan forced another excellent save from Bounou with a long-range effort. However, Morocco punished Canada’s attacking approach in the 82nd minute when Brahim Diaz set up Ounahi, who calmly scored his second goal of the evening.
Deep into stoppage time, Soufiane Rahimi added Morocco’s third goal to complete a convincing victory after Canada pushed numbers forward in search of a comeback.
Morocco suffered an early setback when leading scorer Ismael Saibari left the field in the 22nd minute with a suspected hamstring injury. The midfielder had scored in all three group-stage matches and recently completed a high-profile move from PSV Eindhoven to Bayern Munich.
The match was physical throughout, with both teams receiving four yellow cards. Canada committed 24 fouls compared to Morocco’s 14.
Morocco, currently ranked sixth in the FIFA rankings, will now face the winner of the France vs Paraguay Round of 16 clash in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Canada’s historic World Cup journey came to an end after reaching the knockout stage and winning their first-ever World Cup knockout match earlier in the tournament.
