Morocco ease past co-hosts Canada to book quarterfinal spot on day one of the World Cup Round of 16

After a crazy Round of 32 stage at the 2026 World Cup, it’s time to move on to the Round of 16. To kickstart this stage of the World Cup, we head to Houston and NRG Stadium as co-hosts Canada take on 2022 semi-finalists Morocco. 

Jesse Marsch opted to make 3 changes to the lineup that started the 1-0 win over South Africa in the Round of 32. Liam Millar, Derek Cornelius, and Nathan-Dylan Saliba were dropped from the team and replaced by Luc De Fougerolles, Ali Ahmed, and Niko Sigur. Alphonso Davies was again limited to the bench for this game. 

Mohamed Ouahbi made one change to the starting XI that began the 1-1 draw and 3-2 penalty shootout win over the Netherlands in the Round of 32. The one change he opted for was at the back, with Chadi Riad dropped for Redouane Halhal at center back to partner Issa Diop, the hero of the Netherlands game with his stoppage-time equalizer. 

General view inside the stadium as Canada and Morocco players line up during the national anthems before the match

Issei Kato

World Cup Round of 16 - Canada vs Morocco

Canada had the first chance of the game 5 minutes in when Jonathan David was played through, but Bono did really well to close the angle down and save David’s shot from a tight angle. Canada had another huge chance 10 minutes in when Tani Oluwaseyi was played through into the box, one-on-one with Bono in goal, but the Morocco keeper came out well again, made himself big and stopped Oluwaseyi’s effort with an outstretched leg. 

Alistair Johnston was the next Canadian player to go close to opening the scoring, but his header from a corner, which looked like it was going to test Bono in goal, was blocked by a defender before it could test the keeper. Things got worse for Morocco as, 10 minutes in, standout striker Ismael Saibari went down with an injury and was forced off, with Soufiane Rahimi replacing him. 

Maxime Crépeau was tested for the first time in the game coming out of the first hydration break when Canada turned the ball over high in their own half, and Rahimi’s long-range shot took a slight deflection, but the Canadian shotstopper got down well to make a comfortable save. 

Morocco's Soufiane Rahimi scores their third goal

MARIA LYSAKER

The rest of the first half was very stop-start, a lot of fouls from both sides, 4 yellow cards in the first half alone, including one each for Hakimi and Laryea after the two had a little scuffle following a bad tackle from Hakimi. The two sides headed into the halftime break tied at 0-0. 

Morocco came out strong to start the 2nd half, and they found their way through to break the deadlock just 5 minutes after the restart when Azzedine Ounahi received the ball on the outside of the box thanks to Hakimi’s pass from a free kick, and Ounahi’s strike from distance found the bottom right corner brilliantly to put Morocco 1-0 up. 

Canada played great throughout the game, their buildup play was good, their pressing off the ball kept Morocco quiet and restricted to only a few chances but they had nothing to offer upfront and that was the story of the game, Morocco just had the better talent going forward for their chances. 

Morocco's Soufiane Rahimi celebrates scoring their third goal

Hannah McKay

Tajon Buchanan had a shot from distance with around 10 minutes left on the clock, but it was saved well by Bono, and that’s about as close to scoring as Canada really got. Ounahi added insult to injury when he doubled Morocco’s lead in the 82nd minute after a brilliant counterattack saw Brahim Díaz knock the ball across to him, and Ounahi finished into the roof of the net. 

As Canada sent everything they had up front to get any sort of foothold back into the game, Morocco hit them on one final counter with less than 30 seconds left in the game, and Brahim Diaz managed to find Rahimi with a pass, who slotted it past Crepeau in the Canadian goal to seal the 3-0 win and their place in the Quarter Finals. 

Morocco's Soufiane Rahimi celebrates scoring their third goal with Achraf Hakimi

Hannah McKay

Co-hosts Canada can hold their heads up high for what they’ve achieved in this tournament, having played some really good football at times, played their hearts out, and managed to reach the Round of 16. Morocco now goes on to face France in a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semi-final, when France came away with a 2-0 win. 

Day 2 of the Round of 16

Sunday brings another amazing 2 games in the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the day’s action starting with Brazil vs Norway and ending with the standout game of the round: at the Estadio Azteca, co-hosts Mexico take on England.