FIFA World Cup: African giants hammer Canada to qualify for the quarterfinals
· The South African
Morocco overcame a difficult first half before taking complete control after the break, with Azzedine Ounahi scoring twice to send the Atlas Lions into the last eight.
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The victory keeps Africa’s World Cup dream alive, with the North Africans now just two wins away from a place in the final.
MOROCCO TURN ON THE STYLE AFTER THE BREAK
Backed by a passionate home crowd at Houston Stadium, Canada started brightly and pressed Morocco high up the pitch, forcing the Africans onto the back foot during the opening exchanges.
The co-hosts created several promising chances, but goalkeeper Yassine Bounou stood firm, producing an outstanding save to deny Tani Oluwaseyi. Morocco were then dealt another setback when influential attacker Ismael Saibari limped off injured after just 21 minutes, with Soufiane Rahimi coming on in his place.
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Despite the early pressure, Morocco remained composed and struck the first blow five minutes into the second half.
A clever free-kick routine saw Achraf Hakimi roll the ball into the path of Ounahi, who unleashed a superb strike from outside the area to beat Maxime Crépeau and silence the home supporters.
Canada threw everything forward in search of an equaliser and won 11 corner kicks, but Morocco’s defence refused to buckle.
ATLAS LIONS MARCH INTO THE LAST EIGHT
As Canada pushed numbers forward, gaps began to appear at the back.
Morocco punished them in the 82nd minute when Brahim Díaz burst through midfield before picking out Ounahi, who calmly finished to double his tally for the night.
There was still time for Rahimi to complete the rout in stoppage time, blasting home Morocco’s third goal to seal an emphatic 3-0 victory.
The win makes Morocco the first nation to qualify for the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, where they will face either France or Paraguay at Gillette Stadium on 9 July.
With Egypt also still flying Africa’s flag, the continent’s hopes of producing another historic World Cup run remain very much alive.