Azzedine Ounahi turned Canadian pressure into Moroccan punishment, scoring twice after half-time as Morocco beat Canada 3-0 at NRG Stadium and became the first World Cup quarterfinalist.
The Canada vs Morocco game had looked like a story of missed openings until Ounahi changed it in the 50th minute. From Achraf Hakimi’s low free-kick, he struck first time from the edge of the area, sending the ball through traffic and into the bottom corner.
Canada force Bono into early rescues
Canada had the sharper start. Richie Laryea’s left-side burst led to a corner in the fifth minute, Fougerolles helped the ball on, and David was denied from close range by Bono.
Five minutes later, Bono kept Morocco level again after El Aynaoui gave the ball away, Ahmed released Oluwaseyi, and the goalkeeper won the one-on-one. Morocco then lost Saibari to injury in the 21st minute, with Soufiane Rahimi replacing him.
The first half closed at 0-0 despite Canada’s control and a rising edge to the contest. Michael Oliver had already shown six yellow cards by the interval, and the match finished with four bookings on each side.
Azzedine Ounahi turns statistics into punishment
Ounahi’s opener flipped the match. Canada finished with more total shots, 11 to Morocco’s 5, and had 11 corners to Morocco’s 1, but Morocco put 4 efforts on target to Canada’s 3 and made their cleaner moments count.
Canada pushed for a response, with David sending a free-kick over in the 78th minute before Bono saved Buchanan’s strike from around 20 metres a minute later. Niko Sigur, who started for Canada, left the pitch after 88 minutes.
Rahimi seals Morocco's quarterfinal route
The decisive blow arrived in the 82nd minute. Morocco broke quickly, Diaz escaped Sigur on the right and found Ounahi, who finished emphatically for 2-0.
Rahimi then headed against the bar before completing the scoreline in the 90th minute from another Diaz-led counter. Morocco now advance to face the winner of Paraguay against France, while Canada exit after another defeat in this matchup following Morocco’s 2-1 win in Canada Morocco 2022.
Match Information
Competition: World Cup, Round of 16. Date & Time: Saturday 4 July 2026, 19:00 CET. Venue: NRG Stadium, Houston. Referee: Michael Oliver, England.
