OUNAHI DOUBLE SINKS BRAVE CANADA AS MOROCCO MARCH ON TO THE QUARTER-FINALS

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OUNAHI DOUBLE SINKS BRAVE CANADA AS MOROCCO MARCH ON TO THE QUARTER-FINALS

Morocco ended co-hosts Canada's fairytale World Cup run in some style, coming from a goalless first half to record a clinical 3-0 win in Houston and book their spot in the last eight for the second tournament running.

For 45 minutes it looked as though Canada might spring a genuine shock. They started the brighter of the two sides, pressing high and enjoying the better of the half-chances, while Morocco looked sluggish and barely troubled the scoreboard. The Atlas Lions were dealt a blow early on when Ismael Saibari, their in-form attacker fresh off a move to Bayern Munich, had to be withdrawn with a hamstring problem. Canada, for their part, were already missing captain Alphonso Davies, who sat out with a lingering hamstring issue picked up before the tournament.

Everything changed after the break. Just five minutes into the second half, Achraf Hakimi whipped in a short free-kick to Azzedine Ounahi, who found space on the edge of the box and stroked a low shot through a crowd of players and into the bottom corner, giving goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau no chance. It was a beautifully composed finish that settled Moroccan nerves and shifted the momentum firmly in their favour.

Ounahi wasn't finished. In the 82nd minute, he was picked out by Brahim Díaz on the break, and made no mistake with a firm finish from the middle of the box to double the lead. It was a moment that all but ended any hope of a Canadian comeback.

Deep into stoppage time, on 90 plus 8, Díaz turned provider once more, threading a clever pass through to substitute Soufiane Rahimi — who had come on for the injured Saibari before half-time — and the forward slotted home coolly to make it 3-0 and put a bow on a dominant second-half showing.

It was a fiery affair throughout, with eight yellow cards shown across the match, four for each side. Canada did have late half-chances through Jonathan David and Tajon Buchanan, but were denied by some sharp goalkeeping from Yassine Bounou, who was born in Canada to Moroccan parents.

Ounahi was the deserved man of the match, his brace making him only the latest African star to shine on the big stage after his heroics against Spain back in Qatar four years ago. Díaz, meanwhile, continued his fine tournament with two more assists, taking his tally to four — an African record at the World Cup.

For Canada, it's the end of the road in their first-ever World Cup last-16 appearance, becoming the first co-host nation to be eliminated at this stage of the tournament. Manager Jesse Marsch felt his side matched Morocco for long periods, but ultimately couldn't find the cutting edge to punish them.

Morocco, aiming to go one better than their historic run to the semi-finals in 2022, now progress to the quarter-finals to face France, who beat Paraguay in their own last-16 tie — a repeat of that famous Qatar semi-final four years ago.