The 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 began with a convincing victory for Morocco, who outclassed Canada 3-0 to secure their place in the quarter-finals. Ranked sixth in the latest FIFA World Rankings, the North Africans ultimately proved too strong for a Canadian side sitting 24 places lower.

Canada adopted an uncompromising, physical approach from the opening whistle, disrupting the rhythm with a succession of tactical fouls and looking to create danger from set-pieces. The strategy frustrated Morocco throughout the first half, with the Canadians forcing a series of corners while their opponents collected four yellow cards from just six fouls.

The only genuine scoring opportunity before the break fell to Tani Oluwaseyi. The forward brilliantly turned past Khalhal inside the penalty area before firing from close range, but Yassine Bounou reacted superbly with his foot to produce a vital save and keep the score level.

The match changed completely five minutes after the restart. Following an intelligent set-piece routine, Achraf Hakimi rolled a clever pass into the path of Azzedine Ounahi, who calmly placed his finish into the bottom corner to hand Morocco a deserved 1-0 lead.

That breakthrough drained Canada's confidence. Forced to push forward, the North Americans left space at the back, and Morocco exploited it with ruthless efficiency. In the 82nd minute, a lightning-fast counter-attack saw Brahim Díaz unselfishly square the ball for Azzedine Ounahi, who hammered home his second goal of the evening to all but end the contest.

There was still time for one final flourish. Deep into stoppage time, another devastating counter-attack carved open the Canadian defence. Once again Brahim Díaz was the architect, providing a perfectly weighted pass for Soufiane Rahimi, who kept his composure to beat Maxime Crépeau and seal an emphatic 3-0 victory.

World Cup 2026

Canada - Morocco 0:3 (0:0)
Goals: Ounahi A., 50 (0:1); Ounahi A., 82 (0:2); Rahimi S., 98 (0:3)

Canada: Crépeau; Johnston A.; Laryea (Shaffelburg, 78); De Fougerolles; Bombito; Sigur (Osorio, 87); Ahmed (David, 78); Eustáquio; Buchanan T. (Nelson, 87); Oluwaseyi (Larin C., 63); David J.
Substitution: Larin C. (from 63); Shaffelburg (from 78); David (from 78); Osorio (from 87); Nelson (from 87)
Bench: St. Clair; Goodman O.; Jones Al.; Waterman; Cornelius De.; Choinière; Saliba; Davies; Millar L.
Yellow Cards: Laryea 41; David J. 43; De Fougerolles 49; Larin C. 67

Morocco: Bounou; Hakimi; Halhal; Diop I. (Saadane, 87); Mazraoui; Bouaddi (Amrabat S., 63); Ounahi A. (El Mourabet, 87); El Aynaoui; Diaz Br.; Saibari (Rahimi S., 22); El Khannouss (Talbi, 63)
Substitution: Rahimi S. (from 22); Amrabat S. (from 63); Talbi (from 63); Saadane (from 87); El Mourabet (from 87)
Bench: Munir; Tagnaouti; El Ouahdi; Riad Chadi; Belammari Youssef; Salah-Eddine; Yassine; Amaimouni-Echghouyab; Sbaï; El Kaabi
Yellow Cards: Halhal 20; Hakimi 40; Ounahi A. 45; El Khannouss 45