HOUSTON (AP) — Azzedine Ounahi scored twice to lead Morocco to a 3-0 win over Canada in the World Cup round of 16 Saturday to make the country the first African nation to reach the quarterfinals more than once.
It’s Morocco’s second straight appearance in the quarterfinals after becoming the first African team to reach the semifinals in 2022.
“We are no longer a surprise,” coach Mohamed Ouahbi said through a translator. “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.”
Neither team was able to break through until Ounahi took a free kick from Achraf Hakimi and made a right-footed shot through traffic from outside the box to the bottom right corner to put Morocco on top 1-0 in the 50th minute.
Ounahi made it 2-0 on a right-footed shot from the middle of the box off a pass from Brahim Díaz in the 82nd minute.
Soufiane Rahimi added a goal in the final minute of stoppage time.
Morocco advances to face the winner of Saturday’s Paraguay-France match on Thursday at Boston Stadium.
The loss ends a historic run for World Cup co-host Canada, which won its first-ever knockout round with a 1-0 victory over South Africa 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 than the pitch.
Canada coach Jesse Marsch shared his postgame 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?”
Morocco, which is ranked sixth in the FIFA rankings, dispatched the Netherlands in a penalty shootout to reach the round of 16 and send the country to its earliest World Cup exit.
Though Marsch mistakenly said Morocco is ranked one spot lower than it is, he lauded how his team performed against a squad of its caliber and of 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 No. 7 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-nil.”
In terms of intensity they were good. 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-nil
Canada had a couple of chances to score late. Jonathan David had a free kick 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 goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. Bounou, who was born in Canada to Moroccan parents, had three saves to help Morocco to the win.
This game was a rematch from the last World Cup when Morocco beat Canada 2-1 in the group stage in a tournament in which Morocco finished fourth.
It was an extremely physical match with eight yellow cards being issued. Both teams received four.
Hakimi and Canada’s Richie Laryea received yellow cards in the 40th minute. Hakimi shoved Laryea to the ground and then Laryea pushed him and a minor scuffle ensued.
Morocco midfielder Ismael Saibari left with an injury in the 22nd minute.
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