Canada vs. Morocco: Fans hope for another historic win in high-stakes knockout round. Live updates here.

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Canada is ‘in for a massive challenge’ against Morocco: head coach

‘We deserve to be here’: Canada’s Alistair Johnston on preparing for Morocco match

Canadian fans at home and around the world will cheer on the men’s soccer team as they take on their toughest opponent yet: Morocco.

The loser of today’s match will be eliminated from the tournament, while the winner moves on to the quarter-finals to face either Paraguay or France.

• Watch Canada’s match LIVE Saturday on TSN, TSN.ca and the TSN App at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

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Canadian underdogs

Canadian coach Jesse Marsch said his young team is excited and looking forward to playing a “big” opponent today. And the players are promising to leave it all on the field in trying to pull off one of the biggest upsets yet.

On paper, today’s Canada versus Morocco Round of 16 showdown at the FIFA World Cup is a mismatch, a minnow versus a shark, or soccer’s version of David and Goliath.

Morocco, the sixth-ranked team in the world that made it to the tournament’s final four in 2022, is heavily favoured to eliminate the Canadian overachievers, who have recorded a number of impressive firsts at this World Cup — first goal, first win, first appearance in a knockout game, and first appearance in the Round of 16.

But while Canada has already eliminated one African nation — 1-0 knockout stage victory over South Africa last Sunday in Los Angeles — another one stands in the way of an appearance in the quarterfinals.

The Canadian Press

A fresher Canadian club

“We know that everybody’s going to write us off,” said Canadian coach Jesse Marsch. “But … we are focused on trying to really be our best for this match and deliver the best performance of our lives.”

The Canadian crew also pointed out that Morocco used a lot of energy in getting past the Netherlands on Monday, winning 3-2 on penalties after playing 30 minutes of extra time.

The Canadian Press

Canada’s starting lineup

Jesse Marsch has been forced into many of his lineup decisions at the FIFA World Cup due to injuries, but the Canada head coach has consistently tinkered with the top of his formation by choice.

While Canada has sent out two strikers to start each of their four matches, Tani Oluwaseyi and Cyle Larin have both seen starts beside Jonathan David, while Promise David has made his impact felt as a substitute.

It remains unclear who will get the start in Saturday’s historic Round of 16 clash against Morocco as Canada looks to upset the 2022 semifinalists.

Marsch caught many off guard when he elected to start Oluwaseyi over Larin in Canada’s opening match of the tournament. It was the veteran Larin, though, that entered off the match and scored to secure a 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Canada’s first-ever World Cup point.

TSN.ca staff. Read the full story here.

Canada to host final game next week

Toronto hosted its last World Cup match on Thursday, and Vancouver is set to wrap up its stint next Tuesday.

Fans in both cities can still attend the FIFA Fan Festival, which will continue to broadcast games until the end of the World Cup.

Columbia beats Ghana

Jhon Arias scored the lone goal in the 14th minute and Colombia earned a spot in the World Cup’s round of 16 with a 1-0 victory over Ghana on Friday in Kansas City, Mo.

Arias’ goal held up as the Colombian defense didn’t allow Ghana to get a single shot on goal against goalkeeper Camilo Vargas.

Colombia will face Switzerland in the round of 16 on Tuesday in Vancouver.

Colombia didn’t qualify for the 2022 World Cup, but they did reach the round of 16 in 2018 and the quarterfinals in 2014.

Lawrence Ati Zigi was stellar in goal with seven saves for Ghana.

Colombia had a 20-8 edge in shots and placed eight on target.

Reuters

Argentina survives tough battle against Cape Verde

Cape Verde, with a population of just over 500,000, rocked Lionel Messi’s Argentina with two stunning equalizers to raise the prospect of pulling off the greatest upset in World Cup history at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Friday.

But a Diney Borges own goal, under pressure from Argentina’s Cristian Romero, in the 111th minute finally broke Cape Verde’s resistance.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said losing to Cape Verde “would have been madness.”

It was “a very tough match; you always have to take the positives – this team (Argentina) never gives up,” Scaloni said.

“We have to congratulate the opponent; when people say there are no easy opponents, they proved today that they are a great team,” he added.

Argentina, who are bidding to become the first team to win back-to-back World Cup titles since Brazil in 1962, will play Egypt on Tuesday in Atlanta for a place in the quarterfinals.

AFP

England, Mexico face off Sunday

England’s World Cup last-16 match against Mexico will kick off at its originally scheduled time on Sunday following discussions over possibly bringing the start of the game forward due to storms, a source close to the arrangements said Friday.

Reports in Britain and Mexico said earlier Friday that FIFA was planning to move the kick-off at the Estadio Azteca from 6:00pm local time to midday due to concerns over forecast storms and flooding in Mexico City on Sunday.

However a source with knowledge of the FIFA discussions said Friday that the game would start at its original time, emphasising that “no decision was ever made to reschedule KO time.”

When asked about the potential change in kick-off, England forward Marcus Rashford said at training on Friday it would not be “ideal” but that players would take it in their stride.

“How we prepare for the game, it has to remain the same. We have to be focused, we have to be ready for anything,” Rashford said.

AFP