Morocco beat Canada 3-0 in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 on Saturday to reach the quarter-finals for the second consecutive edition of the tournament. Azzedine Ounahi scored twice as the North Africans ended Canada’s historic World Cup run.
The final score did not reflect how the game started. Canada dominated the opening half, creating several good chances while Morocco failed to register a shot until the 28th minute.
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi looked frustrated on the sidelines as his team misplaced passes and made several mistakes before producing a much-improved display after the break.
Morocco were also dealt an early setback when tournament top scorer Ismael Saibari, who had scored three goals, limped off with a hamstring injury in the 22nd minute. He was replaced by Soufiane Rahimi during a heated first half that saw the referee hand out six yellow cards.
Canada came flying out of the blocks, pressing high and putting Morocco under constant pressure. Tani Oluwaseyi almost gave the co-hosts the lead after capitalising on a loose pass, but goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made an excellent save with his leg.
Canada looked capable of extending their dream World Cup run but were punished for not taking their chances.
Five minutes into the second half, Morocco took the lead through a clever free-kick routine. Captain Achraf Hakimi played a low pass to the unmarked Ounahi, who calmly guided the ball into the bottom corner from outside the box.
The goal took the momentum away from Canada, who were without star player Alphonso Davies. The Bayern Munich full-back missed the match after feeling discomfort in his hamstring during the warm-up.
Ounahi wrapped up his brace in the 82nd minute after Brahim Diaz set him up on a swift counter-attack, with the midfielder firing into the top corner. The double made him the first African player to score twice in a World Cup knockout match since Henri Camara did so for Senegal against Sweden in 2002.
Morocco completed the scoring late on when substitute Rahimi finished another fast break to seal an impressive victory.
They will now face either France in the quarter-finals on July 9.
