Soccer
Two things we liked, two we didn't like as Morocco use big second half to smother Canada
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Canada's first World Cup knockout match ended in sobering fashion as Morocco delivered a ruthless lesson in tournament efficiency.
The hosts created the better openings across the first half, with Jonathan David twice denied by Yassine Bounou, yet went in level at the break. Morocco needed just five minutes of the second half to take the lead through Azzedine Ounahi's set-piece finish, and from that point the pattern became clear: Canada pushed, Morocco absorbed, and the counter-attacks proved deadly.
Ounahi struck again at 82' before Soufiane Rahimi added a third deep into stoppage time, completing a 3–0 victory that sent Morocco through to the quarter-finals and brought a historic Canadian campaign to a bruising end.
Two Things We Liked
Azzedine Ounahi's match-defining brace
The Morocco midfielder delivered precisely when it mattered, scoring both goals that settled the contest before the late flourish. His opener at 50' came from a worked free-kick routine, arriving at the edge of the area to strike first-time past Maxime Crépeau. His second at 82' demonstrated something different entirely—the cold efficiency of a counter-attacking finisher, receiving Brahim Díaz's lay-off and beating the goalkeeper from range as Canada chased the game. The two goals required different qualities: anticipation and positioning for the first, composure under transition speed for the second. Ounahi provided both, earning a standing ovation when withdrawn at 87' with his decisive work complete.
Yassine Bounou's commanding display against his birth nation
Born in Canada before moving to Morocco as a child, Bounou faced the country he might have represented and ensured they would not progress. The goalkeeper made key interventions throughout, most notably denying Jonathan David twice in the first half when Canada were building momentum. At 79', with Morocco protecting a one-goal lead, Bounou stretched to palm Tajon Buchanan's powerful long-range effort around the post for a corner. His positioning to claim Jacob Shaffelburg's dangerous cross at 84' was similarly assured. By the time Alistair Johnston's late effort flew wide, Bounou celebrated as though he had made another save—the relief and emotion of a clean sheet that carried personal weight.
Two Things We Didn't Like
Canada's inability to convert territorial pressure into goals
The hosts did much of the hard work required to trouble Morocco but could not find the finish to match. David turned sharply and shot at 10', only for Bounou to save. A dangerous free kick at 78' from the edge of the area offered a clear route back into the match, but David's chipped effort sailed over the crossbar when a more measured strike might have tested the goalkeeper. Buchanan's long-range drive at 79' was struck with conviction but met an excellent stop. Johnston's stoppage-time attempt from a worked set piece went directly wide. The pattern was consistent: Canada created the platform, reached promising positions, and failed to make Morocco pay. Against a side so efficient on the counter, such wastefulness proved fatal.
Luc De Fougerolles' costly contributions to both Morocco goals
The Canada centre-back endured an afternoon that directly shaped the result. His sliding challenge on Soufiane Rahimi at 49' earned a yellow card and gave Morocco a dangerous free kick in a central position. From the resulting set piece, Ounahi opened the scoring moments later. Then, at 82', De Fougerolles surrendered possession with a misplaced pass that Morocco intercepted to launch the counter-attack ending with Ounahi's second. The defender also had a shot fly harmlessly over the crossbar when in an advanced position. Distribution problems were evident throughout, with Morocco specifically targeting his passing when pressing Canada's build-up. Two individual errors, two goals conceded—the arithmetic was damning.
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