Canada’s historic run in the 2026 World Cup ends after 3-0 loss to Morocco

HOUSTON — Canada is out of the FIFA World Cup after falling 3-0 to Morocco in the round of 16 on Saturday.

Azzedine Ounahi broke a 0-0 deadlock in the 50th minute, then added a second goal in the 82nd for a brace. Soufiane Rahimi converted a rolling shot in the eighth minute of stoppage time to seal the score.

Canada controlled the game early and registered four chances in the first half, but couldn’t get a shot past Morocco’s Montreal-born keeper Yassine Bounou. 

• READ MORE: ‘We were the better team,’ says head coach Jesse Marsch after Canada’s historic run

The Moroccans will meet the winner of a round-of-16 tilt between Paraguay and France in a quarterfinal matchup in Boston on July 9.

Morocco was the higher-ranked nation, entering the tournament sitting at No. 7 in FIFA’s official standings while Canada was No. 30.

The result ends a historic run in which the national squad nabbed its first point and first win in the men’s tournament and earned a spot in the knockout round for the first time. 

Canada head coach Jesse Marsch once again switched up his starting lineup, bringing midfielder Niko Sigur in for his first-ever World Cup start. He also opted for defenders Moïse Bombito and Luc de Fougerolles, and brought midfielder Ali Ahmed into the initial 11. Midfielders Nathan Saliba and Liam Millar, and defender Derek Cornelius started on the bench.

Canada controlled play through much of the opening 25 minutes, keeping Morocco hemmed in its own end and getting several solid scoring opportunities.

The first came just five minutes in when vice-captain Stephen Eustaquio sent a corner swinging in toward the Morocco goal, only to see Bounou punch the ball away. 

The keeper, known as Bono, came up big again five minutes later, stopping a strike from Tani Oluwaseyi just above the six-yard box. 

Morocco’s lone chance of the first half came in the 27th minute when midfielder Soufiane Rahimi launched a shot from distance and Canada’s Maxime Crépeau dove to stop the rolling shot.

There was pushing and shoving in the 39th minute when Achraf Hakimi body-checked Richie Laryea, sending the Canadian defender to the turf. Laryea confronted Hakimi and a scrum ensued, with both Laryea and Hakimi coming out with yellow cards.

Referee Michael Oliver gave six cautions across the first half, with four going to Moroccan players and two to Canadians.

The Atlas Lions held 56 per cent possession across the first half, but it was Les Rouges who had the chances. Canada outshot Morocco 4-1 and held a 2-1 edge in on-target shots. 

Morocco came into the second half as the aggressors and took the lead in the 50th minute after de Fougerolles was booked for a bad tackle.

Hakimi lined up for the free kick at the side of the penalty area and sent the ball to Ounahi, stationed at the top. The midfielder got a right-footed shot off, sailing the ball through traffic and into the net to give Morocco a 1-0 advantage.


Canada had a prime opportunity to equalize in the 77th minute with a free kick from just above the area, but Jonathan David sent his shot well over Morocco’s net. 

A giveaway in Moroccan territory turned deadly for the Canadians in the 82nd minute. 

Striker Brahim Diaz carried the ball up the field, then sliced it to Ounahi inside the area. The midfielder wasted no time blasting a shot off to give the Atlas Lions a 2-0 lead. 

Rahimi came within inches of making it 3-0 three minutes later, but his unimpeded shot went off the crossbar. 

He instead rolled a low shot in past Crepeau in the eighth minute of stoppage time to seal the score. 

Marsch made several second-half substitutions in an apparent bid to juice the offence, bringing Cyle Larin in for Oluwaseyi in the 63rd minute, then replacing Laryea with Jacob Shaffelburg and Ali Ahmed with Promise David in the 79th. 

His final substitutions of the day saw Jayden Nelson and Jonathan Osorio enter for Tajon Buchanan and Sigur.

Marsch did not bring on Canada captain Alphonso Davies, who saw action in just one game across the tournament, coming on in the 74th minute of the country’s victory over South Africa. 

Davies picked up a hamstring injury playing in a Champions League semifinal for Bayern Munich in early May. 

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press