Morocco became the first nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup quarter-finals after thrashing Canada 3-0 on Saturday in Houston.
With the Round of 16 win, the Atlas Lions managed to reach the last eight for a second straight edition.
Azzedine Ounahi scored a second-half double, and a late third through Soufiane Rahimi was enough for the North Africans to seal a victory over the co-hosts despite a lucklustre first-half show.
Meanwhile, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made a crucial save to deny Canada’s Jonathan David and made another stunning stop with his feet from Tani Oluwaseyi.
Morocco’s leading scorer Ismael Saibari left the pitch just 22 minutes into the game, complicating Atlas Lions’ afternoon.
There was an off-the-ball confrontation between Richie Laryea and Achraf Hakimi after the PSG fullback pushed the Canadian defender, and after moments of trying to cool the tension, both were booked.
Goals pour in
Morocco broke the deadlock in the early stage of the second half; in the 50th minute, Hakimi used a wide free-kick to disguise a pass towards Ounahi, who curled into the bottom-right corner for the opener.
Eight minutes from time, Real Madrid star Brahim Diaz offloaded for Ounahi to blast into the top-right corner after a counter-attack.
Although Rahimi headed against the crossbar from Ounahi’s right-sided cross, he later slotted past Crepeau from Diaz’s throughball in the eighth minute of added time.
Match stats as Hakimi makes history
This is the first World Cup match on record (since 1966) to see more yellow cards (6) than shots (5) at half-time, according to Opta Stats.
This Morocco-Canada match was also only the second knockout encounter at the finals to see six first-half yellow cards, with Brazil’s 3-0 win over Ghana in 2006 being the other instance (also six). The eight cautions by the full-time player were the most in any match at this year’s tournament.
Hakimi made history as he recorded his third World Cup assist; the only defenders with more since 1966 are Daley Blind, Denzel Dumfries and Cafu (all four).
Morocco attempted five shots in this game, their lowest total in a single match in the 2026 World Cup. Canada attempted 10 shots in this game, their lowest total in a single match in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
